Down-regulation of microglial activation represents a practical strategy for combating diverse brain disorders such as stroke and neurodegenerative diseases. In the present study, we showed evidence that isopropyl 3-(3, 4-dihydroxyphenyl)-2-hydroxypropanoate (IDHP), a new bioactive metabolite of Danshen (Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge), exerted an anti-inflammatory effect in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)- induced microglia. Our data showed that IDHP significantly reduced the production of nitric oxide (NO), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) in LPS-induced BV-2 cells and rat primary microglia in a dose-dependent manner. IDHP also suppressed mRNA expression of LPSinduced inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), TNF-α and IL-1β. Moreover, IDHP significantly suppressed the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) translocation and DNA binding activity induced by LPS treatment in BV-2 cells. These findings indicated that IDHP might be of value in the treatment of various microglia-mediated neuroinflammatory diseases.
Young individuals typically have a dry-heat (燥熱 zào rè) constitution and feel overly stimulated. This study observes specialties on the right-bar (右關 yòu guān) section of the radial-arterial pulse of healthy young subjects, and investigates pulse variations induced by different attribute foods. Chinese medical doctors grouped thirty subjects into heat and non-heat constitutions. Each subject took water, aged ginger tea, and coconut water, well recognized as neutral, hot, and cold drinks, on different visits. The current study observed physiological signals induced by the samples using novel noninvasive sphygmography and a blood pressure monitor. As the baseline bigger percussion wave, dicrotic wave, and area in the sphygmogram of the non-heat constitution subjects, this work suggests that blood vessels of these subjects may be more relaxed than that of the heat constitution ones. Stroke volume increased and pulse pressure decreased in the non-heat constitution subjects after taking aged ginger tea, which may elevate arterial compliance corresponding to maintaining an estimated radial-arterial diameter in our study. However, the percussion wave widened and the valley increased in the heat constitution subjects after taking aged ginger tea. This corresponds to the markedly reduced radial-arterial diameter, indicating tighter blood vessels than the baseline status. Accordingly, this study confirms that selecting foods with attributes opposite to personal constitutions is important for reestablishing a healthy cold-heat balance within the human body. Moreover, novel noninvasive sphygmography may be a useful instrument to classify scientifically the heat personal constitution and the responses to different attribute foods.
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