title: Radix Astragali and Radix Rehmanniae, the principal components of two antidiabetic foot ulcer herbal formulae, elicit viability-promoting effects on primary fibroblasts cultured from diabetic foot ulcer tissues.
abstract: Over 194 million people suffer from diabetes worldwide. The improper control of diabetes may result in diabetic foot ulcer or even amputation. Herbal medicine provides a means for treating diabetic foot ulcers for a large population in developing countries. The wound healing-enhancing activities of the principal herbs, Radix Astragali (RA) and Radix Rehmanniae (RR) in two clinically efficacious Chinese herbal formulae were studied in primary fibroblasts from diabetic foot ulcer patients. The 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay showed that RA and RR significantly enhanced the viability of fibroblasts isolated from foot ulcers of diabetic patients, even from those with no response to insulin treatment. The results in this study indicate that fibroblast viability enhancement effects of RA and RR likely underlie the healing effects of F1 and F2 in diabetic foot ulcers.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Chinese Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: T W
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Lau
authors.forename: Y W
authors.initials: YW
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: C P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Lau
authors.forename: K M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Lau
authors.forename: C B S
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Lau
authors.forename: K P
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Fung
authors.forename: P C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Leung
authors.forename: Y Y
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Ho
mesh_terms: D027883:Astragalus Plant / Q000737:chemistry; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000601:surgery; D017719:Diabetic Foot / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000601:surgery; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D007328:Insulin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008517:Phytotherapy; D032267:Rehmannia / Q000737:chemistry; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; D007328:Insulin