Coronary heart disease (CHD) is one of the leading causes of death in the world and has become a major public health problem worldwide. CHD belongs to the category of "chest stuffiness" in traditional Chinese medicine, and the blood stasis syndrome is the most common syndrome.Danhong injection is prepared from the extract of Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma and Carthami Flos. It has the functions of promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis. It has anti-inflammatory damage, anti-apoptosis, protection of vascular endothelium, inhibition of platelet aggregation, anti-hyperlipidemia, anticoagulation, improvement of blood rheology and other effects.It also could improve myocardial ischemia and relieve angina symptoms.Danhong injection is widely used in various stages of CHD, including stable angina pectoris, unstable angina pectoris, acute myocardial infarction, postoperative percutaneous coronary intervention(PCI), ischemic cardiomyopathy, CHD with arrhythmia, CHD with hyperlipidemia, CHD with heart failure and CHD with diabetes.

To explore the regularity of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) prescriptions for cardio-cerebrovascular diseases,the core drug groups with common therapeutic effects on cerebrovascular diseases represented by stroke and cardiovascular diseases represented by coronary artery disease were extracted,and their consistency and difference in the treatment of different diseases were analyzed.A total of 388 Chinese patent medicines were collected for the treatment of cerebrovascular diseases,cardiovascular diseases and cardio-cerebrovascular diseases.The dominant and recessive patterns of Chinese patent medicines in clinical use were found by "frequency analysis","compatibility analysis" and "network analysis" respectively.According to the findings of the three parts,Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma,Chuanxiong Rhizoma,Carthami Flos and Astragali Radix have a high frequency of use in the treatment of brain disease,heart disease and both,with frequent combined medication.Data mining confirmed the core drug combinations for the treatment of cerebral and cardiac vascular diseases,so as to reveal the similarities and differences in the drug use of Chinese medicine for these diseases,and provide a basis for the rational use of traditional Chinese medicine in clinical practice.This analysis also defines a new direction for the future development of prescription combinations for different indications of cerebral and cardiac diseases.
Cardiovascular Diseases ; drug therapy ; Cerebrovascular Disorders ; drug therapy ; Data Mining ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Prescriptions

Danhong injection (DHI) and ceftriaxone sodium were used in combination based on their experimental uses in clinic. This study was designed to investigate the impact of ceftriaxone on pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of the phenolic acids from DHI. After administration of DHI for 7 d, ceftriaxone (CFTX) was combined with DHI for the next 7 d in adult male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. All the drugs were administered through caudal vein. UHPLC-TQ-MS was applied in determining the plasma concentration of p-coumaric acid (p-CA), salvianolic acid D (SaD), rosmarinic acid (RA) and salvianolic acid B (SaB). The pharmacokinetic parameters of the combination group or the Danhong injection alone group were calculated by statistical moment method, C_max and the average of the area under the curve AUC_0-t using 90% confidence interval of the bioequivalence and bioavailability degree module in DAS 3.2.8 statistic software. The results showed that C_max of p-CA, SaD, RA and SaB were unqualified within 90% confidence intervals for bioequivalence statistics. And the results showed that AUC_0-t of SaD, RA and SaB within 90% confidence intervals for bioequivalence statistics were unqualified. There were no significant difference in the t_max (P>0.05). The results of anticoagulation in vivo showed that the international normalized ratio (INR), prothrombin time (PT), thrombin time (TT) and activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) were significantly increased when combined with CFTX (P<0.05 or P<0.01). The results in antithrombotic effects revealed that the thromboxane B₂ (TXB₂) level in serum was significantly decreased (P<0.01) in the combination group compared with Danhong injection alone. However, there was no significant difference in antiplatelet effects. These results suggest that CFTX may enhance the anticoagulation and antithrombotic effects of DHI through altering pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics in SD rats.

To evaluate the promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis effects of Danshen-Honghua(DH) herb pair with different preparations (alcohol, 50% alcohol and water) on blood rheology and coagulation functions in acute blood stasis rats, and optimize the best preparation method of DH based on principal component analysis(PCA), hierarchical cluster heatmap analysis and multi-attribute comprehensive index methods. Ice water bath and subcutaneous injection of adrenaline were both used to establish the acute blood stasis rat model. Then the blood stasis rats were administrated intragastrically with DH (alcohol, 50% alcohol and water) extracts. The whole blood viscosity(WBV), plasma viscosity(PV), erythrocyte sedimentation rate(ESR) and haematocrit(HCT) were tested to observe the effects of DH herb pair with different preparations and doses on hemorheology of blood stasis rats; the activated partial thromboplastin time(APTT), thrombin time(TT), prothrombin time(PT), and plasma fibrinogen(FIB) were tested to observe the effects of DH herb pair with different preparations on blood coagulation function and platelet aggregation of blood stasis rats. Then PCA, hierarchical cluster heatmap analysis and multi-attribute comprehensive index methods were all used to comprehensively evaluate the total promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis effects of DH herb pair with different preparations. The hemorheological indexes and coagulation parameters of model group had significant differences with normal blank group. As compared with the model group, the DH herb pair with different preparations at low, middle and high doses could improve the blood hemorheology indexes and coagulation parameters in acute blood stasis rats with dose-effect relation. Based on the PCA, hierarchical cluster heatmap analysis and multi-attribute comprehensive index methods, the high dose group of 50% alcohol extract had the best effect of promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis. Under the same dose but different preparations, 50% alcohol DH could obviously improve the hemorheology and blood coagulation function in acute blood stasis rats. These results suggested that DH herb pair with different preparations could obviously ameliorate the abnormality of hemorheology and blood coagulation function in acute blood stasis rats, and the optimized preparation of DH herb pair on promoting blood effects was 50% alcohol extract, providing scientific basis for more effective application of the DH herb pair in modern clinic medicine.

BACKGROUNDThe molecular mechanisms of Shenxianshengmai (SXSM), a traditional Chinese medicine, on bradycardia have been incompletely understood. The study tried to investigate the gene expression profile and proteomics of bradycardia rabbits' hearts after SXSM treatment.

METHODSTwenty-four adult rabbits were randomly assigned in four groups: sham, model, model plus SXSM treatment, and sham plus SXSM treatment groups. Heart rate was recorded in all rabbits. Then, total RNA of atria and proteins of ventricle were isolated and quantified, respectively. Gene expression profiling was conducted by gene expression chip, and quantitative real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was performed to confirm the results of gene expression chip. We used isobaric tags for elative and absolute quantitation and Western blotting to identify altered proteins after SXSM treatment.

RESULTSThere was a constant decrease in the mean heart rate (32%, from 238 ± 6 beats/min to 149 ± 12 beats/min) after six weeks in model compared with that in sham group. This effect was partially reversed by 4-week SXSM treatment. Complementary DNA microarray demonstrated that the increased acetylcholinesterase and reduced nicotinic receptor were take responsibility for the increased heart rate. In addition, proteins involved in calcium handling and signaling were affected by SXSM treatment. Real-time RT-PCR verified the results from gene chip. Results from proteomics demonstrated that SXSM enhanced oxidative phosphorylation and tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle in ventricular myocardium to improve ATP generation.

CONCLUSIONSLong-term SXSM stimulates sympathetic transmission by increasing the expression of acetylcholinesterase and reduces the expression of nicotinic receptor to increase heart rate. SXSM also restored the calcium handling genes and altered genes involved in signaling. In addition, SXSM improves the ATP supply of ventricular myocardium by increasing proteins involved in TCA cycle and oxidation-respiratory chain.

Animals ; Bradycardia ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; physiopathology ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Heart Rate ; drug effects ; Proteomics ; Rabbits ; Random Allocation ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction

Naoxintong capsule has beneficial effects for activating blood circulation, dispersing blood stasis and dredging collateral. It is widely used in the treatment of coronary heart disease, angina pectoris, stroke and cardiovascular disease. However, the pharmacodynamic basis and possible mechanism of its preventive effects are not clear. In this study, 10 male and 10 female C57BL/6 mice were used, and were randomly divided into the control group (saline) and Naoxintong group. Adaptively fed for 7 days in common conditions, mice were given Naoxintong capsule or saline for 3 days via intragastric administration. Serum was collected from 6 mice in each group 1 h after the last administration. Serum proteins were prepared to do two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. Then image analysis and mass spectrometry detection were carried out to screen and identify the differentially expressed proteins and make bioinformatics analysis. It was found that 24 differentially expressed proteins between Naoxintong group and control group. Compared with the control group, 12 proteins were increased, and 12 were decreased. The proteins were involved in apoptosis signal pathway and vascular endothelial growth factor signal transduction pathway, in which vasohibin-1 is a negative feedback regulation factor in angiogenesis. Western blot showed that the expression of vasohibin-1 in Naoxintong group was reduced, which is consistent with the result in two-dimensional electrophoresis. Serum proteins expression is different between Naoxintong and control groups. The targets of these differentially expressed proteins include endothelial cells, inflammatory cells and platelets. The changes on proteins showed that Naoxintong capsule may ameliorate coronary heart disease and ischemic cerebrovascular disease, and provide potential biological markers to prevent ischemic disease.

To investigate the stability and the conversion rules of cantharidin and cantharidic acid contained in the Mylabris aqueous solution under different conditions. The contents of cantharidin and cantharidic acid under different conditions (pH, temperature and light) were determined by HPLC-TQ-MS. The results showed that the content of cantharidin was gradually decreased with the rising of pH value, while on the contrary, the content of cantharidic acid was increased gradually; after Mylabris aqueous solution with different pH values were placed at 25, 40 ℃ and 25 ℃ respectively for lighting for 90 days, the samples were collected for analysis. The results showed the contents of cantharidin and cantharidic acid were changed greatly in the first 10 days, mainly including the decrease of cantharidic acid and increase of cantharidin when the solution was acidic, and the increase of cantharidic acid and decrease of cantharidin when the solution was alkaline. After that, the contents of the above two components basically remained stable. This study revealed that pH was the main factor to affect the contents of cantharidin and cantharidic acid, and they could be converted into each other with the changes of pH value. High temperature and light can accelerate the speed of achieving such balance. The study can provide certain reference for the quality control of the medicines using the Mylabris as raw material.