Chemical Composition and Antimigraine Activity of Essential Oil of Angelicae dahuricae Radix

α7nAChR-mediated astrocytic activation: A novel mechanism of Xiongzhi Dilong decoction in ameliorating chronic migraine

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Alpha 7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7nAChR)-mediated astrocytic activation is closely related to central sensitization of chronic migraine (CM). Xiongzhi Dilong decoction (XZDL), originated from Xiongzhi Shigao decoction of Yi-zong-jin-jian, has been confirmed to relieve CM in experiment and clinic. However, its underlying mechanism for treating CM has not been elucidated.

AIM OF THE STUDY

To reveal the underlying mechanisms of XZDL to alleviate CM in vivo focusing mainly on α7nAChR-mediated astrocytic activation and central sensitization in TNC.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

CM rat model was established by subcutaneous injection of nitroglycerin (NTG) recurrently, and treated with XZDL simultaneously. Migraine-like behaviors of rats (ear redness, head scratching, and cage climbing) and pain-related reactions (mechanical hind-paw withdrawal threshold) of rats were evaluated before and after NTG injection and XZDL administration at different points in time for nine days. The immunofluorescence single and double staining were applied to detect the levels of CGRP, c-Fos, GFAP and α7nAChR in NTG-induced CM rats. ELISA kits were employed to quantify levels of TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 in medulla oblongata of CM rats. The expression levels of target proteins were examined using western blotting. Finally, methyllycaconitine citrate (MLA, a specific antagonist of α7nAChR) was applied to further validate the mechanisms of XZDL in vivo.

RESULTS

XZDL significantly attenuated the pain-related behaviors of the NTG-induced CM rats, manifesting as constraints of aberrant migraine-like behaviors including elongated latency of ear redness and decreased numbers of head scratching and cage climbing, and increment of mechanical withdrawal threshold. Moreover, XZDL markedly lowered levels of CGRP and c-Fos, as well as inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α) in CM rats. Furthermore, XZDL significantly enhanced α7nAChR expression and its co-localization with GFAP, while markedly inhibited the expression of GFAP and the activation of JAK2/STAT3/NF-κB pathway in the TNC of CM rats. Finally, blocking α7nAChR with MLA reversed the effects of XZDL on astrocytic activation, central sensitization, and the pain-related behaviors in vivo.

CONCLUSION

XZDL inhibited astrocytic activation and central sensitization in NTG-induced CM rats by facilitating α7nAChR expression and suppressing JAK2/STAT3/NF-κB pathway, implying that the regulation of α7nAChR-mediated astrocytic activation represents a novel mechanism of XZDL for relieving CM.

Composing functional food from agro-forest wastes: Selectively extracting bioactive compounds using supercritical fluid extraction

Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) employing carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) is an efficient method to extract bioactive compounds from agro-forest wastes. These compounds maintain and/or improve food nutrition, safety, freshness, taste, and health and are employed as natural functional food components. To highlight the potential of this technology, we focus on the following current advances: (I) parameters affecting solubility in SFE (pressure, temperature, SC-CO2 flow rate, extraction time, and co-solvents); (II) extraction spectra and yield obtained according to proportion and composition of co-solvents; (III) extract bioactivity for functional food production. Fatty acids, monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes, diterpenoids, and low-polarity phenolic acids and triterpenoids were extracted using SFE without a co-solvent. High-polarity phenolic acids and flavonoids, tannins, carotenoids, and alkaloids were only extracted with the help of co-solvents. Using a co-solvent significantly improved the triterpenoid, flavonoid, and phenolic acid yield with a medium polarity.

Database-aided UHPLC-Q-orbitrap MS/MS strategy putatively identifies 52 compounds from Wushicha Granule to propose anti-counterfeiting quality-markers for pharmacopoeia

Wushicha Granule, an over-the-counter-drug (OTC) prescription, consists of 19 traditional Chinese herbals medicines (CHMs), such as Chaihu, Hongcha, Chuanxiong, Houpo, and Gancao. The five however have not been effectively characterized by the quality-markers (Q-markers) system in current Pharmacopoeia. The study therefore established a novel database-aided ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-orbitrap mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q-orbitrap MS/MS) strategy. The strategy has putatively identified 52 compounds from Wushicha Granule, mainly including flavonoids, saponins, alkaloid, lignins, and lactones. Especially, saponin "glycyrrhetinic acid" in the Granule was specifically identified as 18β-configuration (rather than 18α-configuration). Meanwhile, two pairs of isomers were fully discriminated, including vitexin vs isovitexin and daidzein vs 7,4'-dihydroxyflavone. 8β-Glycyrrhetinic acid, together with saponin saikosaponin A, alkaloid caffeine, lactone S-senkyunolide A, and lignin magnolol, were further studied using quantum chemical calculation, UV-vis spectra, and anti-counterfeiting validation experiment. In the validation experiment, they have successfully recognized 6 counterfeit Wushicha Granules, by means of a LC-MS equipped extraction software. Based on these results, 8β-glycyrrhetinic acid is recommended to replace the old Q-marker "glycyrrhetinic acid"; while saikosaponin A, caffeine, S-senkyunolide A, and magnolol are recommended as new Q-markers. These recommendations can not only recognize the counterfeits regarding Chaihu, Hongcha, Chuanxiong, Houpo, and Gancao, but also prevent the possible safety-incident. All these will greatly improve the efficiency and specificity of current Pharmacopoeia.

Seven new 3,4-dihydro-furanocoumarin derivatives from Angelica dahurica

Objective

To study the chemical constituents of the roots of Angelica dahurica, a well-known Chinese herbal medicine named Baizhi in Chinese.

Methods

Compounds were separated by various chromatographies, and the structures of new compounds were elucidated based on the analysis of their spectroscopic and spectrometric data (1D, 2D NMR, HRESI MS, IR, and UV). The absolute configurations of new compounds were determined by the calculated electronic circular dichroism and chemical derivatization. The inhibitory activities of all isolates against nitric oxide (NO) production were evaluated using lipopolysaccharide-activated RAW 264.7 macrophage cells.

Results

Seven new 3,4-dihydro-furanocoumarin derivatives (1a/1b, 2a/2b, 3a/3b, 4) together with a known furanocoumarin (5) were isolated from the roots of A. dahurica. The new compounds included three pairs of enantiomers, (4S, 2''R)-angelicadin A (1a)/(4R, 2''S)-angelicadin A (1b), (4S, 2''S)-angelicadin A (2a)/(4R, 2''R)-angelicadin A (2b), and (4S, 2''S)-secoangelicadin A (3a)/(4R, 2''R)-secoangelicadin A (3b), together with (4R, 2''R)-secoangelicadin A methyl ester (4). The known xanthotoxol (5) inhibited the NO production with the half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) value of (32.8 ± 0.8) µmol/L, but all the new compounds showed no inhibitory activities at the concentration of 100 µmol/L.

Conclusion

This is the first report of the discovery of 3,4-dihydro-furanocoumarins from A. dahurica. The results are not only meaningful for the understanding of the chemical constituents of A. dahurica, but also enrich the reservoir of natural products.

Extraction and purification of α-pinene; a comprehensive review

Extensive use of α-pinene in cosmetics, and medicine, especially for its antioxidant/antibacterial, and anti-cancer properties, and also as a flavoring agent, has made it a versatile product. α-Pinene (one of the two pinene isomers) is the most abundant terpene in nature. When extracting α-pinene from plants and, to a lesser extent, fruits, given that its purity is essential, purification methods should also be used as described in this study. Also, an attempt has been made to describe the extraction techniques of α-pinene, carried out by conventional and novel methods. Some disadvantages of conventional methods (such as hydrodistillation or solvent extraction) are being time consuming, low capacity per batch and being labor intensive and the requirement of trained operators. Most novel methods, such as supercritical fluid extraction and microwave-assisted extraction, can reduce the extraction time, cost, and energy compared to conventional methods, and, in fact, the extraction and preservation efficiency of α-pinene in these methods is higher than conventional methods. Although the above-mentioned extraction methods are effective, they still require rather long extraction times. In fact, advanced methods such as green and solvent-free ultrasonic-microwave-assisted extraction are much more efficient than microwave-assisted extraction and ultrasound-assisted extraction because the extraction efficiency and separation of α-pinene in these methods are higher; furthermore, no solvent consumption and maximum extraction efficiency are some crucial advantages of these techniques. However, the application of some novel methods, such as ultrasound-assisted extraction, in industry scale is still problematic because of their intricate design data.

Natural products for migraine: Data-mining analyses of Chinese Medicine classical literature

Background: Treatment effect of current pharmacotherapies for migraine is unsatisfying. Discovering new anti-migraine natural products and nutraceuticals from large collections of Chinese medicine classical literature may assist to address this gap. Methods: We conducted a comprehensive search in the Encyclopedia of Traditional Chinese Medicine (version 5.0) to obtain migraine-related citations, then screened and scored these citations to identify clinical management of migraine using oral herbal medicine in history. Information of formulae, herbs and symptoms were further extracted. After standardisation, these data were analysed using frequency analysis and the Apriori algorithm. Anti-migraine effects and mechanisms of actions of the main herbs and formula were summarised. Results: Among 614 eligible citations, the most frequently used formula was chuan xiong cha tiao san (CXCTS), and the most frequently used herb was chuan xiong. Dietary medicinal herbs including gan cao, bai zhi, bo he, tian ma and sheng jiang were identified. Strong associations were constructed among the herb ingredients of CXCTS formula. Symptoms of chronic duration and unilateral headache were closely related with herbs of chuan xiong, gan cao, fang feng, qiang huo and cha. Symptoms of vomiting and nausea were specifically related to herbs of sheng jiang and ban xia. Conclusion: The herb ingredients of CXCTS which presented anti-migraine effects with reliable evidence of anti-migraine actions can be selected as potential drug discovery candidates, while dietary medicinal herbs including sheng jiang, bo he, cha, bai zhi, tian ma, and gan cao can be further explored as nutraceuticals for migraine.

The Angelica dahurica: A Review of Traditional Uses, Phytochemistry and Pharmacology

Angelica dahurica (A. dahurica) root is a famous edible medicinal herb that has been used in China for thousands of years. To date, more than 300 chemical constituents have been discovered from A. dahurica. Among these ingredients, coumarins and volatile oils are the major active compounds. Moreover, a few other compounds have also been isolated from the root of A. dahurica, such as alkaloids, phenols, sterols, benzofurans, polyacetylenes and polysaccharides. Modern pharmacological studies demonstrated that the root of A. dahurica and its active components displayed various bioactivities such as anti-inflammation, anti-tumor, anti-oxidation, analgesic activity, antiviral and anti-microbial effects, effects on the cardiovascular system, neuroprotective function, hepatoprotective activity, effects on skin diseases and so on. Based on these studies, this review focused on the research publications of A. dahurica and aimed to summarize the advances in the traditional uses, phytochemistry and pharmacology which will provide reference for the further studies and applications of A. dahurica.

Role of herbal medicine for prevention and treatment of migraine

Migraine is a disabling neurovascular disease with unilateral or bilateral pulsatile headache, which intensively affects human health and quality of life due to high morbidity worldwide. Migraine is commonly accompanied by abnormal pain sensitization, neuroinflammatory response, and vasomotor dysfunction. Owing to the management dilemmas of migraine, there is an urgent need to develop effective and low-cost therapies. In recent years, herbal medicines as a promising strategy with analgesic activity and minor side effect, have been proposed for the prevention and treatment of migraine. Considering the lack of a review integrating experimental studies regarding the herbal treatment of migraine, this review systematically summarizes the important potential applications of herbal medicines in ameliorating migraine via multiple therapeutic targets and pathways, as well as provides a reference for further development of novel antimigraine drugs.

A Review of the Potential Use of Pinene and Linalool as Terpene-Based Medicines for Brain Health: Discovering Novel Therapeutics in the Flavours and Fragrances of Cannabis

"Medicinal cannabis" is defined as the use of cannabis-based products for the treatment of an illness. Investigations of cannabis compounds in psychiatric and neurological illnesses primarily focus on the major cannabinoids, cannabidiol (CBD) and Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC), which are hypothesised to benefit multiple illnesses manifesting cognitive impairment, neurodegeneration and neuro-inflammation, as well as chronic pain, epilepsy and post-traumatic stress disorder, respectively. The cannabis plant contains >500 compounds, including terpenes responsible for the flavour and fragrance profiles of plants. Recently, research has begun providing evidence on the potential use of certain plant-derived terpenes in modern medicine, demonstrating anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective effects of these compounds. This review examined the effects of two key terpenes, pinene and linalool, on parameters relevant to neurological and psychiatric disorders, highlighting gaps in the literature and recommendations for future research into terpene therapeutics. Overall, evidence is mostly limited to preclinical studies and well-designed clinical trials are lacking. Nevertheless, existing data suggests that pinene and linalool are relevant candidates for further investigation as novel medicines for illnesses, including stroke, ischemia, inflammatory and neuropathic pain (including migraine), cognitive impairment (relevant to Alzheimer's disease and ageing), insomnia, anxiety, and depression. Linalool and pinene influence multiple neurotransmitter, inflammatory and neurotrophic signals as well as behaviour, demonstrating psycho-activity (albeit non-intoxicating). Optimising the phytochemical profile of cannabis chemovars to yield therapeutic levels of beneficial terpenes and cannabinoids, such as linalool, pinene and CBD, could present a unique opportunity to discover novel medicines to treat psychiatric and neurological illnesses; however, further research is needed.

Review of aromatherapy essential oils and their mechanism of action against migraines

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Migraines have become a major threat to human health, as they significantly affect human health and quality of life due to a high prevalence rate, attack rate and pain intensity. Aromatherapy, with its comfortable and pleasant natural characteristics and rapid and efficient characteristics, is widely favored by patients in the folk. Chinese folk also have the application history and related records of aromatic plants in the treatment of migraine.

AIM OF THE STUDY

This study was conducted to review the pathogenesis of migraine, the application of plant essential oils in the treatment of migraine, and further explore the material basis and mechanism of action of plant essential oils against migraine.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Search the electronic literature of essential oils with anti-migraine effect in Google Scholar, PubMed and China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and further search the research situation of the monomer components of essential oils in migraine, inflammation, pain and other aspects.

RESULTS

studies show that there are 10 types of plant essential oils that could relieve migraine symptoms, and that 16 monomers may play a role in migraine treatment by effectively inhibiting neurogenic inflammation, hyperalgesia and balancing vasorelaxation.

CONCLUSION

Aromatic plant essential oils can relieve migraine effectively, these findings can be used as an important part of the development of anti-migraine drugs.

Oral Chinese Herbal Medicine as Prophylactic Treatment for Episodic Migraine in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

BACKGROUND

The prophylactic effects of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) for migraine were examined in numerous clinical trials. This review aimed to analyze the effectiveness and safety of CHM as prophylactic treatment of migraine compared to flunarizine.

METHODS

Nine databases were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that evaluated effects of CHM for episodic migraine prophylaxis compared to flunarizine, published before March 2019.

RESULTS

Thirty-five RCTs with 2,840 participants met the inclusion criteria, and 31 of them were included in meta-analyses. The overall meta-analysis indicated that, when compared to flunarizine, CHM reduced the frequency of migraine attacks at the end of treatment (EoT) (21 studies, mean difference (MD) -1.23, 95% confidence interval (CI) (-1.69, -0.76)) and at the end of follow-up (EoFU) (five studies, MD -0.96, 95% CI (-1.70, -0.21)). Subgroup analyses based on the treatment duration, follow-up duration, and the dosage of flunarizine showed that CHM was superior to or comparable with flunarizine in reducing migraine frequency. Similar results were also found for secondary outcomes such as the pain visual analogue scale, migraine duration, responder rate, and acute medication usage. In particular, the studies that used CHM containing herb pairs (Chuan Xiong plus Bai Zhi and Chuan Xiong plus Tian Ma) showed promising results. However, the certainty of this evidence was evaluated as "low" or "very low" using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations approach.

CONCLUSION

CHM appeared to be comparable with flunarizine in reducing the frequency of episodic migraine attacks in adults at EoT and EoFU and well-tolerated by participants, regardless of the treatment duration, follow-up duration, and dosage of flunarizine. Due to the low certainty of the evidence, the suggested promising prophylactic outcomes require higher quality evidence from further rigorous RCTs.

Efficacy and safety of the classic Chinese herbal prescription Sanpian decoction on migraine: A meta-analysis

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of the classic Chinese herbal prescription Sanpian decoction for curing migraine.

METHODS

Scopus, PubMed, EMBASE, SPRINGER LINK, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Weipu Database and WanFang Database were searched from inception through January 2019 to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that evaluated the efficacy and safety of Sanpian decoction.

RESULTS

Fifteen RCTs with a total of 1377 participants were identified. Compared with the control drugs, Sanpian decoction and Sanpian decoction combined with Sibelium significantly improved the clinical efficacy separately (relative risk [RR] 4.19, 95% confidence intervals [CI] 2.91 to 6.04, P < 0.00001; RR 1.29, 95% CI 1.09 to 1.54, P = 0.003 separately); the Sanpian decoction significantly improved the visual analogue scale score (VAS) (mean differences [MD] -1.83, 95% CI -2.69 to -0.97, P < 0.0001), headache score (MD -3.77, 95% CI -7.20 to -0.34, P = 0.03) and reduced the frequency of headache attacks (MD -1.61, 95% CI -2.07 to -1.14, P < 0.00001) and the concentration of endothelin (ET) (MD -11.90, 95% CI -23.22 to -0.58, P = 0.04) when compared with control drugs. There were minor side effects related to Sanpian decoction which were well tolerated.

CONCLUSIONS

Sanpian decoction is of significant benefits and relative safety in treating migraine. However, more rigorous studies with larger sample sizes are needed due to methodological flaws and low quality of the included trials in this meta-analysis.

Alkaloids from the rhizomes of Ligusticum striatum exert antimigraine effects through regulating 5-HT1B receptor and c-Jun

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Migraine is a prevalent, complex, painful, and disabling neurovascular disorder that places an enormous social and economic burden on patients. Rhizome Chuanxiong (RCX), the dried rhizomes of Ligusticum striatum DC., has been widely used in the clinic for the treatment of migraine for centuries in China. Total alkaloids (TAs) are considered to be important effective ingredients of L. striatum, especially for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. However, there has been no study published, to date, reporting the antimigraine effects of TAs from RCX (RCXTAs).

AIM OF THE STUDY

The present study was designed to evaluate the antimigraine effects of RCXTAs and explore the underlying mechanisms in an experimental migraine rat model.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

RCXTAs were prepared in accordance with our previous optimized preparation process. A nitroglycerin-induced migraine model in rats and a reserpine-induced migraine model in mice were established to investigate the effects of RCXTAs on monoamine neurotransmitters in brain tissue, including 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) and its metabolite (5-HIAA). Migraine rats or mice were divided into six groups as follows: control; model; zolmitriptan (1.67 mg/kg); and low-, medium-, and high-dose RCXTAs (12.5, 25, and 50 mg/kg, respectively). The levels of 5-HT and 5-HIAA in the brains of rats and mice were determined by using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method. Pathological changes in the brains of migraine rats were examined by immunohistochemistry. The protein expression of 5-HT_1B receptor, c-Fos, and c-Jun in the periaqueductal gray (PAG) of migraine rats was measured by Western blot.

RESULTS

After preventive administration of RCXTAs to the nitroglycerin-induced migraine rats, the levels of 5-HT and 5-HIAA in the brain tissue were generally upregulated in all three RCXTA dose groups, a finding that was similar to that observed in the control group. Additionally, the 5-HT and 5-HIAA levels were significantly increased in the medium- and high-dose RCXTA groups when compared with the model group (p < 0.01). Therapeutical administration of RCXTAs to reserpine-induced migraine mice also inhibited the reduction of 5-HT and 5-HIAA in the brain (p < 0.01). Both immunohistochemistry and Western blot tests showed that RCXTAs pretreatment has significantly upregulated 5-HT_1B receptor expression and downregulated c-Jun expression in the nitroglycerin-induced migraine rats.

CONCLUSIONS

RCXTAs exerted significant preventive and therapeutic effects on migraine via increasing the levels of 5-HT and 5-HIAA. Upregulation of the expression of monoamine neurotransmitter 5-HT_1B receptor and downregulation of the expression of c-Jun were the possible mechanisms.

Chinese herbal medicine for headache: A systematic review and meta-analysis of high-quality randomized controlled trials

BACKGROUND

Chinese herbal medicines (CHMs) are widely used to relieve headache in Asia. However, it is uncertain whether there is robust evidence on the effects of CHMs for headache.

PURPOSE

To assess the effectiveness and safety of CHMs for headache using systematic review of high-quality randomized controlled trials (RCTs).

METHODS

Electronic search was conducted on six databases from inception to January 2018. We included the RCTs that met the requirement of at least 4 out of the 7 domains according to the Cochrane risk of bias tool.

RESULTS

Thirty RCTs with 3447 subjects were ultimately included for analysis and all trials were conducted in Asia. Meta-analysis showed that CHMs monotherapy were superior to placebo in reducing headache frequency [SMD -0.48 (95% CI -0.76, -0.20); p < 0.01], headache days [SMD -0.29 (95% CI -0.45, -0.13); p < 0.01], headache duration[SMD -0.58 (95% CI -0.81, -0.36); p < 0.01], headache intensity [SMD -0.42 (95% CI -0.62, -0.23); p < 0.01] and analgesic consumption [SMD -0.36 (95% CI -0.52, -0.21); p < 0.01] and improving clinical efficacy rate (p < 0.01). Similarly, CHMs monotherapy were superior to western conventional medicines (WCMs) in headache frequency [SMD -0.57 (95% CI -0.84, -0.29); p < 0.01], headache days (p < 0.01), analgesic consumption [SMD -1.63 (95% CI -1.98, -1.28); p < 0.01], headache intensity [SMD -0.81 (95% CI -1.06, -0.57); p < 0.01], and clinical efficacy rate [RR 1.24 (95% CI 1.18, 1.31); p < 0.01], except reducing headache duration (p > 0.05). CHMs adjunct therapy can improve clinical efficacy rate compared with WCMs alone [RR 1.15 (95% CI 1.09, 1.22); p < 0.01]. Meanwhile, CHMs had fewer adverse events than that of controls.

CONCLUSION

The findings supported, at least to an extent, the use of CHM for headache patients; however, we should treat the results cautiously because the clinical heterogeneity.