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Aim. The aim of the present study was to examine the efficacy and safety of Polycan, a β-glucan produced from the black yeast Aureobasidium pullulans SM-2001, in combination with glucosamine in reducing knee osteoarthritis-associated symptoms. Methods. This was a double-blind, randomized controlled trial of a formulated product composed of 16.7 mg of Polycan and 250 mg of glucosamine (Group A), 16.7 mg of Polycan and 500 mg of glucosamine (Group B), or 500 mg of glucosamine (control group) per capsule, administered as three capsules once per day over a period of 12 weeks, conducted with 100 osteoarthritis patients, aged 35–80 years. The primary outcome measure was osteoarthritis symptoms assessed by the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) questionnaire. The secondary outcome measures included rescue medication use (according to data from a patient-reported diary) and other safety indices (body weight, blood pressure, hematological, and biochemistry markers). Results. Compared with the control group, Group B demonstrated a statistically significant reduction in the total WOMAC score after 12 weeks of treatment (p < 0.05). There was a significant reduction in the frequency of rescue medication used in Groups A and B compared with the control group (p < 0.05). There were no significant changes in hematology and biochemistry parameters or health indices between the active and the control group. Conclusion. Among patients with mild or moderate osteoarthritis, a daily oral dose of Polycan (50 mg) in combination with glucosamine (750 mg or 1500 mg; Group A or B, respectively) resulted in a better treatment outcome than treatment with glucosamine (1500 mg) alone.

Canna edulis Ker rhizome has been used in Traditional Vietnamese Medicine to prevent and treat heart diseases without thorough scientific evidence. The data presented in this article characterize the antiplatelet aggregation, anticoagulant and antioxidant activity of C. edulis rhizome extracts and the bio-guided isolation of bioactive compounds from the active fraction. The data on tested bioactivities of isolated compounds were also provided. The inhibitory effect on adenosine diphosphate- and collagen-induced human platelet aggregation was evaluated through three parameters: percentage inhibition of platelet aggregation, aggregation velocity and area under the platelet aggregation curve. Prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastine time and thrombine time were measured to examine the anticoagulant activity. The free radical scavenging ability was assessed with DPPH and ABTS assays. The structures of compounds were elucidated by NMR and MS spectroscopic methods. The data showed that the ethyl acetate fraction showed the most potent antiplatelet aggregation, anticoagulant and antioxidant activity. Seven known compounds: 5-hydroxy-6-methyl-2 H -pyran-2-one (1) , epimedokoreanone A (2) , nepetoidin B (3) , ferulic acid (4) , caffeic acid (5) , hydroxytyrosol (6) , and 1H-indole-3-carboxaldehyde (7) were isolated from this active fraction. Moreover, this article provided experimental data on antiplatelet effect of epimedokoreanone A (2) and nepetoidine B (3) , anticoagulant and antioxidant activity of epimedokoreanone A (2) and also antiplatelet and antioxidant activity of 5-hydroxy-6-methyl-2 H -pyran-2-one (1) .

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