Study on the antiviral activity of San Huang Yi Gan Capsule against hepatitis B virus with seropharmacological method

Abstract

BackgroundSeropharmacology arising recently is a novel method of in vitro pharmacological study on Chinese herb using drug-containing animal serum. As seropharmacology possesses the advantages of experiments in vitro and in vivo, it is increasingly applied in pharmacological research on Chinese medicine. However, some issues of seropharmacology remain controversial and need to be clearly defined. San Huang Yi Gan Capsule (SHYGC) is a Chinese herbal formula with antiviral property against hepatitis B virus (HBV), but little is known about the mechanism underlying its anti-HBV activity. The aim of the present study was to elucidate the action mechanism of SHYGC using seropharmacological method and systematically address the methodology of preparing drug-containing serum.MethodsNew Zealand rabbits were orally administrated SHYGC with various regimens, followed by preparation of SHYGC-containing rabbit sera with a variety of methods. After HBV-producing HepG2 2.2.15 cells were treated with SHYGC-containing sera or entecavir for 9 days, the levels of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and HBV DNA and the activity of DNA Polymerase were determined in HepG2 2.2.15 cells-conditioned media.ResultsAn optimally standardized method of preparing drug-containing serum was raised for seropharmacology, with which SHYGC was demonstrated to suppress HBsAg expression, HBV DNA replication and DNA Polymerase activity in a dose-dependent fashion.ConclusionsThis seropharmacological study shows SHYGC is a potentially powerful anti-HBV agent. Additionally, seropharmacology is a promising pharmacological method with a broad range of advantages, and it can be widely used in biomedical research, if combined with pharmacokinetics.

Rabbit Sera Containing Compound Danshen Dripping Pill Attenuate Leukocytes Adhesion to TNF-Alpha–Activated Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells by Suppressing Endothelial ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 Expression Through NF-KappaB Signaling Pathway

“…In previous study, we set up an optimally standardized method to prepare drug-containing serum. 8 Briefly, drug of daily dosage is evenly shared to 2 portions and orally administered to rabbits twice daily, with one in the morning and another at night, for 7 consecutive days. On the eighth day, 2 hours after the final administration, the rabbit serum is harvested via ear artery and subjected to heat-inactivation at 568C for 30 minutes.…”

“…The dosage selection was based on our similarly seropharmacological study. 8 After 12 hours of fasting, rabbits were subjected to the last administration followed by blood collection via ear artery 2 hours later. Subsequently, rabbit sera were obtained by centrifugation and inactivated at 568C for 30 minutes.…”

“…8,9 The essence of seropharmacology is administration of drug to animal followed by harvest of animal blood and conduction of in vitro pharmacological research with the drug-containing animal serum. Seropharmacology has the advantages of in vitro experiment, including convenient control of experimental condition and exclusion of interference by internal factors, which facilitate in-depth study on the action mechanism of drug.…”

“…Therefore, seropharmacology is quite suitable for pharmacological study on Chinese herbal preparation. [8][9][10][11] Here, we sought to investigate the action of CDDP on monocytes-and neutrophils-endothelial cells adhesion and its possible mechanism with seropharmacological method, so as to preliminarily define the experimental evidence for CDDP application in clinical setting.…”

Application of a liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method to the pharmacokinetics, tissue distribution and excretion in the study of anemoside B4, a novel antiviral agent candidate, in rats

“…Traditional Chinese medicine can inhibit viral replication, regulate immune function and improve the pulmonary circulation. It is widely used against various viruses, including the influenza virus (Cai et al, ), SARS‐CoV (Chen et al, ), hepatitis B (Xu, Wu, Peng, & Zhou, ) and HIV virus (Jin et al, ). Taking influenza viruses for instance, Lianhuaqingwen capsule, a traditional Chinese prescription, approved by the China State Food and Drug Administration in 2004, was recommended as one of the drugs to treat influenza A (H1N1) by the China Health Authority in 2009.…”