Ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry, and pharmacology of Sterculia lychnophora Hance (Pangdahai)

A Review on the Phytochemistry and Pharmacology of the Genus Sterculia

The Sterculia genus is comprised of approximately 300 species, which have been widely used as traditional medicines to treat inflammation, snake bites, gastrointestinal diseases, skin diseases, microbial infections and many other diseases. To gain a comprehensive understanding of the therapeutic potential of Sterculia plants, an extensive literature search was conducted in CNKI, Bing, Wanfang Database, Springer Database, Elsevier Database, Google Scholar, Baidu Scholar, PubMed, and other similar websites from January 1971 to March 2024. The research indicated that Sterculia species predominantly contain flavonoids, terpenoids, phenylpropanoids, fatty acids, alkaloids and other chemical components. A wide range of pharmacologic activities such as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antibacterial and other biological activities have been reported. Nevertheless, there isn't much scholarly research on the therapeutic material basis of the genus Sterculia. This review reports the ethnobotany, phytochemicals, and biological activities of the plants in the Sterculia genus as herbal remedies.

TCM "medicine and food homology" in the management of post-COVID disorders

Background

The World Health Organization declared that COVID-19 is no longer a public health emergency of global concern on May 5, 2023. Post-COVID disorders are, however, becoming more common. Hence, there lies a growing need to develop safe and effective treatment measures to manage post-COVID disorders. Investigating the use of TCM medicinal foods in the long-term therapy of post-COVID illnesses may be beneficial given contemporary research's emphasis on the development of medicinal foods.

Scope and approach

The use of medicinal foods for the long-term treatment of post-COVID disorders is highlighted in this review. Following a discussion of the history of the TCM "Medicine and Food Homology" theory, the pathophysiological effects of post-COVID disorders will be briefly reviewed. An analysis of TCM medicinal foods and their functions in treating post-COVID disorders will then be provided before offering some insight into potential directions for future research and application.

Key findings and discussion

TCM medicinal foods can manage different aspects of post-COVID disorders. The use of medicinal foods in the long-term management of post-COVID illnesses may be a safe and efficient therapy choice because they are typically milder in nature than chronic drug use. These findings may also be applied in the long-term post-disease treatment of similar respiratory disorders.

Scaphium affine Ethanol Extract Induces Anoikis by Regulating the EGFR/Akt Pathway in HCT116 Colorectal Cancer Cells

Scaphium affine ethanol extracts (SAE) is a species that has been shown to contain various physiological effects; however, its anticancer effects have yet to be revealed. We qualitatively evaluated β-sitosterol in SAE through high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The cytotoxicity in HCT116 and HT29 colorectal cancer cells and CCD841 normal colon cells was confirmed through WST-1 assays. Selective cytotoxicity was observed in colorectal cancer cells, with greater cytotoxicity demonstrated in the HCT116 cell line. As such, the HCT116 colorectal cell line was selected for subsequent experiments. After HCT116 cells were treated with SAE, it was confirmed that the apoptosis rate was increased in a SAE dose-dependent manner through Annexin V assay. SAE further showed dose-dependent suppression of invasion through invasion assays. Anoikis induction through the EGFR/Akt pathway in HCT116 colorectal cancer cells was confirmed by Western blotting. The tumor suppressive effects of SAE was assessed in vivo using a xenograft model of human HCT116 colorectal cancer cells. As a result, we confirmed that SAE decreased tumor size in a dose-dependent manner and that p-EGFR and cleaved-caspase 3 in tumors were also regulated in a dose-dependent manner. This study showed that SAE, by containing β-sitosterol with proven anticancer effects, induces anoikis through the EGFR/Akt pathway in HCT116 colorectal cancer cells both in vitro and in vivo.

Yan-Hou-Qing formula attenuates ammonia-induced acute pharyngitis in rats via inhibition of NF-κB and COX-2

BACKGROUND

Yan Hou Qing (YHQ) is a Chinese medicinal formula designed to alleviate sore throat symptoms, but underlying mechanism of YHQ treatment for pharyngitis is poorly defined up to now.

METHODS

In this study, the modulation of YHQ on pharyngitis is investigated in ammonia-induced acute pharyngitis rat models. After treatment with YHQ or dexamethasone respectively for five consecutive days, all rats were sacrificed for biomolecular and histopathologic study. Protein expressions of MAPKs, NF-κB, COX-2 and 5-LOX in pharyngitis tissue were evaluated by western blot analysis and the levels of TNF-α, IL-6, prostaglandin (PG) E₂, leukotrienes (LT)-B₄ and LT-D₄ in pharyngeal tissue were measured via ELISA assay. Evans blue (EB) dye exudation test was performed parallelly to assess the integrity of pharyngeal tissue.

RESULTS

Compared with normal control group, EB dye exudation, and inflammatory cytokines in the model group were significantly increased, and the pharynx tissue was obviously infiltrated by inflammatory cells. YHQ treatment improved the inflammatory infiltrate in pharyngeal tissue, and reduced EB dye exudation in AP rat models. The up-regulated TNF-α and IL-6 in pharyngeal tissue of AP were significantly reduced by YHQ through inhibition of phosphorylation of p38, Erk and NF-κB. YHQ treatment also reversed the increased level of PGE₂ through down-regulation of COX-2.

CONCLUSIONS

YHQ formula attenuated the pharyngitis related symptoms via suppression of COX-2 and phosphorylation of p38, Erk and NF-κB (p65).