Brain oxidative stress as basic target of antioxidant traditional oriental medicines.
Prevention and amelioration of Mibyou (sub-healthy condition) is the critical target for disease prevention including age-related diseases and cancer although the Mibyou condition is not yet pathologically defined. Since the oxidative stress is an underlying basic etiology associated with many diseases and aging, the psychologically induced oxidative stress, especially in the brain was supposed as one of the pathology of Mibyou. Several traditional herbal prescriptions applied for the brain disorder were found effective to prevent cerebral oxidative stress induced by ischemia/reperfusion and also under psychological distress produced by whiskers cut in mice. Shengmai San comprising three herbs, Panax ginseng, Ophiopogon japonicus and Schisandra chinensis is a traditional herbal medicine formula having a long history of using as a remedy and clinical prescription to treat coronal heart diseases. Multifunctional aspect of traditional herbal prescription was discussed in terms of preventing oxidative injury in the brain using Shengmai San as a typical prescription.
Konishi
Tetsuya
T
Department of Functional and Analytical Food Sciences, Niigata University of Pharmacy and Applied Life Sciences (NUPALS), Higashijima 265-1 Akiha-Ku, Niigata, 956-8603, Japan. konishi@nupals.ac.jp
D000818:Animals; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000378:metabolism / Q000517:prevention & control; D004338:Drug Combinations; D004357:Drug Synergism; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D008516:Medicine, Chinese Traditional; D020835:Medicine, Kampo; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects*; D015427:Reperfusion Injury / Q000378:metabolism / Q000517:prevention & control; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000378:metabolism / Q000517:prevention & control
D000975:Antioxidants; D004338:Drug Combinations; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; C009252:fructus schizandrae, radix ginseng, radix ophiopogonis drug combination