Huanglian Jiedu Decoction in the Treatment of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Syndrome “Shanghuo”–An Intervention Study

Abstract

“Shanghuo” (“excessive internal heat”) is caused by exuberant endogenous fire, which does not have a comprehensive and systematic traditional Chinese medicine theory. In previous study, we had evaluated the therapeutic effect of Huanglian Jiedu Decoction (HLJDD) (granule) on patients with “Shanghuo”, however, the specific mechanism was not clear, which need further exploration. To explain its intervention mechanism, we select 57 patients with oral diseases caused by “Shanghuo” and 20 health volunteers to divide into oral disease group, HLJDD intervention group and healthy control group. Firstly, biochemical indicators before and after HLJDD intervention are detected, such as inflammatory factors, oxidative stress factors and energy metabolism factors. The results exhibit that HLJDD significantly decreases indicators succinic acid (p < 0.001); tumor necrosis factor-alpha, adenosine triphosphate, citric acid (p < 0.01); interleukin-8 (IL-8), 4-hydroxynonenal, pyruvic acid, lactate dehydrogenase (p < 0.05). The levels of glucocorticoid, adrenocorticotropic hormone (p < 0.01); lactic acid, IL-4, IL-10 (p < 0.05) significantly increase after HLJDD intervention. In addition, we adopt multi-omics analysis approach to investigate the potential biomarkers. Nontargeted metabolomics demonstrate that the levels of 7 differential metabolites approach that in the healthy control group after HLJDD intervention, which are correlated with histidine metabolism, beta-alanine metabolism and sphingolipid metabolism through metabolic pathway analysis. Targeted lipidomics results and receiver operating characteristic curve analysis show that 13 differential lipids are identified in the three groups mainly focuse on lysophosphatidylcholines, lysophosphatidylethanolamines. Finally, the network associations of those differential biomarkers reveal the regulation of adenosine triphosphate and tricarboxylic acid cycle play essential role in the therapeutic effect mechanism of HLJDD in “Shanghuo”. The study has laid the foundation for further revealing the mechanism and finding clinical biomarkers related to “Shanghuo”.

Microbiome and metabolome reveal the metabolic and microbial variations induced by depression and constipation

“…Through plasma metabolomics analysis, it was concluded that energy metabolism and amino acid metabolism were greatly influenced by constipation. Pyruvate is the final product of glycolytic pathway and participates in TCA cycle 33 . The decrease of pyruvate and the increase of glucose in plasma of constipated rats, as well as negative correlations of the two metabolites, indicate that glycolytic pathway was perturbed, which in turn affects energy metabolism.…”

Variation in the Efficacy of Anti-Ulcerative Colitis Treatments Reveals the Conflict Between Precipitating Compatibility of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Modern Technology: A Case of Scutellaria-Coptis

“…Conversely, a strong positive correlation was not observed between the efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine and the contents of the main active components. Nevertheless, there are numerous forms of effective components of Traditional Chinese medicine, and self-precipitation in precipitate compatibility could be the “drug storage warehouse” of effective components ( Luo et al, 2021 ). After entering the body, the precipitates are intercepted and absorbed by intestinal villi, and become active components or precursors again under the action of intestinal microorganisms and enzymes, thereby acting on intestines, microorganisms, and diffusing into the blood.…”

“…Moreover, a combination of the two herbal components can considerably clear heat, dryness, and dampness. Therefore, both herbs form a classical drug pair for clearing heat, dryness, and dampness in clinical practice ( Chan et al, 2020 ; Luo et al, 2021 ). According to traditional Chinese medicine practice, Radix Scutellariae and Rhizoma Coptidis decoction is mostly prepared in the form of a combined decoction ( Chen et al, 2021 ).…”

Research Progress on the Correlation Between Hypertension and Gut Microbiota

“…132 Moreover, it is noteworthy that HJD can significantly reduce the levels of inflammatory factors such as TNF-α and IL-8, effectively suppressing immune and inflammatory responses. 133 , 134 Simultaneously, it significantly alters the gene expression profile of SHR, involving multiple cellular functions like smooth muscle contraction regulation, endothelial cell Ca(2+) balance, and nitric oxide (NO) pathways. 135 In addition to HJD, the active components of Taohong Siwu Decoction (TSD) also demonstrate remarkable effects in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases.…”