title: Effects of Chinese herbal products on mammalian retinal functions.
abstract: Ocular ischemia and inflammation are two major factors which induce retinal degeneration. Treatment of these diseases has been difficult, though numerous agents have been tried. Natural products could be a good field to venture into because various medicinal plants have been used for centuries to treat circulation stasis, inflammation, visual disturbances, and eyesight failure. Tetramethyl-pyrazine, coumarin, methyl tyramine, rescinnamine, apocynin, and hesperetin are some natural products isolated from Chinese herbs for improving ocular blood flow, particularly in the choroid and retina. For ocular inflammation, at least a dozen natural products are reviewed in this article. Among those, matrine, tetrandrine and osthole draw particular attention, because they are effective mainly as interleukin-1 blockers, but not as arachidonate blockers. As a result, these agents are potent anti-inflammatory agents and are even more potent than the prototype corticosteroid, prednisolone. It is hoped that all aforementioned agents can be used to treat retinopathies resulting from ocular ischemia and/or ocular inflammation. Scoparone, corylifolinin, epigallocatechin-3-0-gallate, esculetin, and lespedezaflavanone A are some natural products which can improve retinal functions measured with electroretinogram's b-wave recovery. Further research should be carried out to relate natural products which can improve ocular blood flow and inflammation to retinal function and vice versa.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Ocular Pharmacology, Texas A&M University College of Medicine, College Station, USA.
authors.forename: S X
authors.initials: SX
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: G C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Chiou
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity / Q000187:drug effects; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004596:Electroretinography; D009877:Endophthalmitis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D012160:Retina / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology*; D012171:Retinal Vessels / Q000187:drug effects / Q000503:physiopathology
chemical_list: D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal