title: An in vivo analysis of the therapeutic and synergistic properties of Chinese medicinal formula Yin-Chen-Hao-Tang based on its active constituents.
abstract: 6,7-Dimethylesculetin (D), geniposide (G) and rhein (R) are the three major active ingredients of Yin-Chen-Hao-Tang (YCHT), a famous Chinese herbal formula, which has been shown to be clinically effective for treating hepatic injury (HI) syndrome. The present study was conducted to investigate the therapeutic and synergistic effects of COC (combination of D, G and R) on HI rats by combining pharmacokinetic with biochemical analysis strategy. Plasma was analyzed by using reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). Principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) models were built to evaluate the therapeutic and synergistic effects of COC at the biochemical level. Here, we report that the COC combination could increase the plasma level, slow elimination rate, exert a more robust therapeutic effect than any one or two of the three individual compounds by hitting multiple targets in a rat model of HI. Overall, this beneficially accounts for the popular view that traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formula usually takes multi-component to exert their therapeutic effects. We suggest that dissecting the mode of action of clinically effective formula to be capable of producing a sufficient effect at low doses.
authors.affiliation: National TCM Key Lab of Serum Pharmacochemistry, Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Heping Road 24, Harbin 150040, China.
authors.forename: Aihua
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Ye
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.forename: Wenjun
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Guozheng
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Jiao
authors.forename: Xijun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000880:Anthraquinones / Q000097:blood / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D019306:Artemisia / Q000737:chemistry; D002251:Carbon Tetrachloride; D056486:Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy*; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D004338:Drug Combinations; D004357:Drug Synergism; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D032062:Gardenia / Q000737:chemistry; D039823:Iridoids / Q000097:blood / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016018:Least-Squares Analysis; D019684:Magnoliopsida / Q000737:chemistry*; D008297:Male; D008517:Phytotherapy; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012250:Rheum / Q000737:chemistry; D014468:Umbelliferones / Q000097:blood / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: C012923:6,7-dimethylaesculetin; D000880:Anthraquinones; D004338:Drug Combinations; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; D039823:Iridoids; D014468:Umbelliferones; C542425:yin-chen-hao-tang; C007835:geniposide; D002251:Carbon Tetrachloride; C020491:rhein