Danggui Buxue Tang – A Chinese herbal decoction activates the phosphorylations of extracellular signal‐regulated kinase and estrogen receptor α in cultured MCF‐7 cells

Abstract

Danggui Buxue Tang (DBT), a Chinese herbal decoction used to treat ailments in women, contains Radix Astragali (Huangqi; RA) and Radix Angelicae Sinensis (Danggui; RAS). The weight ratio of RA to RAS used in DBT must be 5:1 as stipulated as early as AD 1247; however, DBT's mechanism of action has never been described. Here, the estrogenic effects of DBT were investigated by determining the phosphorylations of estrogen receptor a (ERa) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (Erk1/2) in cultured MCF-7 cells. The application of DBT triggered the phosphorylation of ERa and Erk1/2 in a time-dependent manner. In contrast to the effect of estrogen, DBT triggered ERa phosphorylation at both S118 and S167. This DBT-specific phosphorylation was not triggered by an extract of one of the individual herbs, or by mixing the extracts of RA and RAS. DBT-induced downstream signals are described here. These signals suggest the uniqueness of this Chinese herbal decoction that requires a well-defined formulation.

The expression of erythropoietin triggered by Danggui Buxue Tang, a Chinese herbal decoction prepared from Radix Astragali and Radix Angelicae Sinensis, is mediated by the hypoxia-inducible factor in cultured HEK293T cells

“…Several line of evidence indicate that this 800-year-old herbal decoction having RA and RAS in a 5:1 ratio possesses the best biological activities in stimulating estrogenic responses (Gao et al, 2007a), immunological responses and bone development ; however, the two herbs have to be boiled together (Gao et al, 2007b;Choi et al, 2009). In good agreement with our previous results, the HIF induction of DBT has a specific requirement of boiling the two herbs together in order to achieve the full biological activity.…”

“…Pharmacological results indicate that DBT possesses the abilities to promote hematopoietic function, to stimulate cardiovascular circulation, to prevent osteoporosis, to increase anti-oxidation activity, to stimulate immune response and increase insulin sensitivity Gao et al, 2006Gao et al, , 2007aGao et al, ,b, 2008Liu et al, 2009). By determining the chemical and biological properties of DBT, the optimized conditions for herbal extraction have been established (Song et al, 2004), which, interestingly, are in accord HEK293T cells were treated with 1 mg/ml of DBT, RA, RAS, RA + RAS (just mixing the extracts of RA and RAS together in 5:1 ratio but boiled separately) for 48 h. The level of EPO mRNA was revealed by real-time PCR, while 18S rRNA was used as an internal control for normalization.…”

BCQ–: A Body Constitution Questionnaire to Assess Yin-Xu

“…For example, the heat originated from Blood-Xu was described in Neiwaishang Bianhuo Lun by Li Dongyuan in China, 1247 A.D. [33]. 3) From the statistical perspective, there is a collinearity be…”

Identification of metabolites of Danggui Buxue Tang in rat urine by liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry

“…3 Nowadays, DBT is used not only as an efficacious medicine, but also as a common food supplement. Previous studies have demonstrated that DBT has attractive pharmacological activities, including immunoregulation, 4 estrogenic properties, 5 anti-inflammation, 6 stimulation of the T-lymphocytes proliferation, 7 regulating blood lipid and foam cell formation, 8 as well as retarding the progress of diabetic nephropathy. 9 In recent years, metabolism studies of CHMs have attracted significant attention, as they shed additional light on drug efficacy, 10 and enable the screening of bioactive components, 11 the detection of potentially toxic metabolites, 12 the elucidation of herb-drug interactions, 13 and the identification of drug degradation pathways.…”