Salutary effects of Corydalis yanhusuo extract on cardiac hypertrophy due to pressure overload in rats

A Heart Failure Model Established by Pressure Overload Caused by Abdominal Aortic Contraction in Rat

Heart failure is a complex clinical syndrome in which ventricular filling or ejection capacity is impaired due to structural or functional diseases of the heart. In order to establish a stable heart failure model, we investigated cardiac parameters in rats with abdominal aortic contraction and normal rats, including the left ventricular posterior wall diameter (LVPWd), the interventricular septum thickness of end-diastolic (IVSd), the left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVEDd), the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), and left ventricular fractional shortening (LVFS). Rats were randomly divided into experimental group (n = 20) and control group (n = 20). The experimental group underwent modified abdominal aortic constriction, while the control group only isolated the abdominal aorta without constriction. The results showed that the survival rate of rats in the experimental group was 85% after one week of operation, while the survival rate of rats in the control group was 100%. Five weeks after operation, the left ventricular posterior wall diameter (LVPWd) and the interventricular septum thickness of end-diastolic (IVSd) in the experimental group were all increased compared with those in the control group, and the differences were statistically significant (p < 0.05); the left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVEDd) in the experimental group showed an increasing trend compared with the control group, but p > 0.05; compared with the control group, the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and left ventricular fractional shortening (LVFS) in the experimental group showed downward trend, but p > 0.05. 10 weeks after operation, the LVPWd, IVSd, and LVEDd of the experimental group were increased compared with the control group, p < 0.05, and the LVEF and LVFS of the experimental group were decreased compared with the control group, p < 0.05. Compared with the control group, the BNP of the experimental group increased significantly, p < 0.05. The heart weight index and left ventricular weight index of rats in the experimental group were significantly higher than those in the control group, p < 0.05. HE staining showed that the myocardial cells in the experimental group increased in volume, disordered cell arrangement, widened gaps, increased nuclear hyperchromia, and uneven staining. This paper provides a theoretical basis for the study of heart failure.

Prediction and verification of potential lead analgesic and antiarrhythmic components in Corydalis yanhusuo W. T. Wang based on voltage-gated sodium channel proteins

Corydalis yanhusuo W. T. Wang, a traditional Chinese herbal medicine, has been used as an analgesic for thousands of years and it also promotes blood circulation. In this study, 33 Corydalis yanhusuo alkaloid active components were acquired from Traditional Chinese Medicine Database and Analysis Platform (TCMSP). A total of 543 pain-related targets, 1774 arrhythmia targets, and 642 potential targets of these active components were obtained using Swiss Target Prediction, GeneCards, Open Target Platform, and Therapeutic Target Database. Fifty intersecting targets were visualized through a Venn diagram, KEGG and GO pathway enrichment analysis. The analysis proposed that sodium ion channels are likely potential targets of Corydalis yanhusuo active components as analgesia and anti-arrhythmia agents. Molecular docking showed that the 33 components could bind to Nav1.7 and Nav1.5 (two subtypes of ion channel proteins) with different binding energies. In a patch clamp study, dihydrosanguinarine and dihydrochelerythrine, two monomers with the strongest binding effects, could inhibit the peak currents and promote both activation and inactivation phases of Nav1.5. Meanwhile, dihydrosanguinarine and dihydrochelerythrine could also inhibit peak currents and promote the activation phase of Nav1.7. Therefore, the findings from this study provide valuable information for future uses of traditional Chinese medicines to treat pain and cardiovascular disease.

Compassionate Use of Yuanjiang Decoction, a Traditional Chinese Medicinal Prescription, for Symptomatic Bradyarrhythmia

Background: No effective medication is available for symptomatic bradyarrhythmia, particularly in low socioeconomic status (SES) population.

Objective: To explore the safety and efficacy of Yuanjiang decoction, a traditional Chinese medicinal prescription, for symptomatic bradyarrhythmia on a compassionate-use basis.

Methods: This compassionate-use study was conducted in Beijing, China between January 2019 and January 2020. Eligible participants were recruited and treated with Yuanjiang decoction (composed of 6 Chinese herbal medicines), 200 ml twice daily for 16 weeks. Analyses were done with the intention-to-treat (ITT) approach. The primary outcome measure was the proportion of participants who achieved a favorable treatment outcome at 16 weeks.

Results: As of January 2020, 184 patients were included. After 16-weeks treatment, 12 participants were lost to contact while 21 participants were terminated from this study, with a drop-out rate of 17.93%. The most common treatment-related adverse events were xerostomia (6.52%), constipation (6.45%) and sleepiness (3.26%). The proportion of participants with favorable treatment outcome was 65.22% at 4 weeks, 59.78% at 8 weeks (OR: 1.11, 95% CI: 0.71–1.73), 61.41% at 12 weeks (OR: 1.16, 95% CI: 0.92–1.45) and 60.87% at 16 weeks (OR: 1.15, 95% CI: 0.98–1.35). In the multifactor regression analysis, the favorable treatment outcome at 16 weeks was significantly associated with completing at least 8 weeks treatment (OR: 2.053, 95% CI: 1.064–3.560), while unfavorable treatment outcome was significantly associated with an atrioventricular block (OR: 0.255, 95% CI: 0.083–0.784), current smoking (OR: 0.343, 95% CI: 0.027–0.487), and syncope in the month before treatment (OR: 0.321, 95%CI: 0.114–0.904).

Conclusion: This compassionate-use study showed encouraging outcomes of treatment with Yuanjiang decoction, without serious adverse events. This study identified several key factors that may affect outcomes. These findings helped inform the design and assess the feasibility of a large-scale randomized clinical trial.

Traditional Chinese medicine as a therapeutic option for cardiac fibrosis: Pharmacology and mechanisms

Cardiovascular diseases are one of the leading causes of death worldwide and cardiac fibrosis is a common pathological process for cardiac remodeling in cardiovascular diseases. Cardiac fibrosis not only accelerates the deterioration progress of diseases but also becomes a pivotal contributor for futile treatment in clinical cardiovascular trials. Although cardiac fibrosis is common and prevalent, effective medicines to provide sufficient clinical intervention for cardiac fibrosis are still unavailable. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is the natural essence experienced boiling, fry, and other processing methods, including active ingredients, extracts, and herbal formulas, which have been applied to treat human diseases for a long history. Recently, research has increasingly focused on the great potential of TCM for the prevention and treatment of cardiac fibrosis. Here, we aim to clarify the identified pro-fibrotic mechanisms and intensively summarize the application of TCM in improving cardiac fibrosis by working on these mechanisms. Through comprehensively analyzing, TCM mainly regulates the following pathways during ameliorating cardiac fibrosis: attenuation of inflammation and oxidative stress, inhibition of cardiac fibroblasts activation, reduction of extracellular matrix accumulation, modulation of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, modulation of autophagy, regulation of metabolic-dependent mechanisms, and targeting microRNAs. We also discussed the deficiencies and the development direction of anti-fibrotic therapies on cardiac fibrosis. The data reviewed here demonstrates that TCM shows a robust effect on alleviating cardiac fibrosis, which provides us a rich source of new drugs or drug candidates. Besides, we also hope this review may give some enlightenment for treating cardiac fibrosis in clinical practice.

Integration of full-length transcriptomics and targeted metabolomics to identify benzylisoquinoline alkaloid biosynthetic genes in Corydalis yanhusuo

Corydalis yanhusuo W.T. Wang is a classic herb that is frequently used in traditional Chinese medicine and is efficacious in promoting blood circulation, enhancing energy, and relieving pain. Benzylisoquinoline alkaloids (BIAs) are the main bioactive ingredients in Corydalis yanhusuo. However, few studies have investigated the BIA biosynthetic pathway in C. yanhusuo, and the biosynthetic pathway of species-specific chemicals such as tetrahydropalmatine remains unclear. We performed full-length transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses to identify candidate genes that might be involved in BIA biosynthesis and identified a total of 101 full-length transcripts and 19 metabolites involved in the BIA biosynthetic pathway. Moreover, the contents of 19 representative BIAs in C. yanhusuo were quantified by classical targeted metabolomic approaches. Their accumulation in the tuber was consistent with the expression patterns of identified BIA biosynthetic genes in tubers and leaves, which reinforces the validity and reliability of the analyses. Full-length genes with similar expression or enrichment patterns were identified, and a complete BIA biosynthesis pathway in C. yanhusuo was constructed according to these findings. Phylogenetic analysis revealed a total of ten enzymes that may possess columbamine-O-methyltransferase activity, which is the final step for tetrahydropalmatine synthesis. Our results span the whole BIA biosynthetic pathway in C. yanhusuo. Our full-length transcriptomic data will enable further molecular cloning of enzymes and activity validation studies.

Advances in phytochemical and modern pharmacological research of Rhizoma Corydalis

ABSRACTContext: Rhizoma Corydalis (RC) is the dried tubers of Corydalis yanhusuo (Y. H. Chou and Chun C. Hsu) W. T. Wang ex Z. Y. Su and C. Y. Wu (Papaveraceae). Traditionally, RC is used to alleviate pain such as headache, abdominal pain, and epigastric pain. Modern medicine shows that it has analgesic, anti-arrhythmia, and other effects.Objective: We provided an overview of the phytochemical and pharmacological properties of RC as a foundation for its clinical application and further research and development of new drugs.Methods: We collected data of various phytochemical and pharmacological effects of RC from 1982 to 2019. To correlate with existing scientific evidence, we used Google Scholar and the journal databases Scopus, PubMed, and CNKI. 'Rhizoma Corydalis', 'phytochemistry', and 'pharmacological effects' were used as key words.Results: Currently, more than 100 chemical components have been isolated and identified from RC, among which alkaloid is the pimary active component of RC. Based on prior research, RC has antinociceptive, sedative, anti-epileptic, antidepressive and anti-anxiety, acetylcholinesterase inhibitory effect, drug abstinence, anti-arrhythmic, antimyocardial infarction, dilated coronary artery, cerebral ischaemia reperfusion (I/R) injury protection, antihypertensive, antithrombotic, antigastrointestinal ulcer, liver protection, antimicrobial, anti-inflammation, antiviral, and anticancer effects.Conclusions: RC is reported to be effective in treating a variety of diseases. Current pharmacological studies on RC mainly focus on the nervous, circulatory, digestive, and endocrine systems, as well as drug withdrawal. Although experimental data support the beneficial effects of this drug, its physiological activity remains a concern. Nonetheless, this review provides a foundation for future research.

Fingerprint-efficacy study of the quaternary alkaloids in Corydalis yanhusuo

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Corydalis yanhusuo is a well-known Chinese herbal medicine that is commonly applied as an analgesic agent in clinic using for thousands of years. Resent research showed that the quaternary ammonium alkaloids from Corydalis yanhusuo have a significant effect on myocardial ischemia. However, the corresponding anti-myocardial ischemia components that represent the efficacy of the quaternary ammonium alkaloids have not been elucidated.

AIM OF THE STUDY

Explore the anti-myocardial ischemia components of Corydalis yanhusuo and develop a method of quality control for Corydalis yanhusuo. Chemical fingerprints of quaternary ammonium alkaloids extracted from Corydalis yanhusuo samples from 37 different sources were identified using UPLC-Q-TOF MS. The protective effects of the 37 samples with respect to H₉C₂ cell hypoxia-reoxygenation were detected by MTT assays. The fingerprint-efficacy relationship between the chemical fingerprints and cardioprotection afforded by Corydalis yanhusuo was investigated using three chemometric methods.

RESULTS

Because of their inherent differences in chemical compositions, the protective effects to H₉C₂ cell hypoxia-reoxygenation were different. The results of three chemometric methods showed that the source of the Corydalis yanhusuo has an important influence on both the chemical fingerprint and efficacy. In particular, dehydrocorybulbine, 13-methyldehydrocorydalmine, dehydrocorydaline, columbamine, and palmatine appear to be the main effective components for quality control of this TCM.

CONCLUSION

This work provides a general model of combination of UPLC and cardioprotection efficiency to study the fingerprint-efficacy relationship of Corydalis yanhusuo which can offer some references for detecting principal components of Corydalis yanhusuo on cardioprotection efficiency. Fingerprint-efficacy studies also provide a powerful method of quality control in Corydalis yanhusuo and other TCMs.

Chinese herbal medicines promote hippocampal neuroproliferation, reduce stress hormone levels, inhibit apoptosis, and improve behavior in chronically stressed mice

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

An efficacious antidepressant without unwanted side effects is need urgently at present. This study aimed to investigate whether treatment with four Chinese herbal medicines (CHMs), namely Radix Astragali, Saposhnikovia divaricate (SD), Eucommia ulmoides Oliv. bark (EU), and Corydalis yanhusuo W. T. Wang (C. yanhusuo), could reverse the effects of chronic mild stress (CMS) in a depression-like mouse model and the potential mechanism(s) of their action.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In vitro study, the proliferation of NSCs was assessed using the MTS assay. In vivo study, chronic mild stress (CMS) was used in mice for 14 days to establish a depression-like mouse model. Plasma corticosterone levels were assessed by UPLC coupled to a triple-quadrupole mass spectrometer. The forced swim test (FST) was used to assess the effects of the four CHMs on depression. BrdU incorporation and TUNEL staining were used to assay hippocampal precursor cell proliferation rate and apoptosis.

RESULTS

The CHMs included Radix Astragali, EU, C. yanhusuo, and SD were shown to promote neuroproliferation in vitro. In vivo study, oral administration of these four CHMs for 14 days reversed the elevated plasma corticosterone levels, body weight loss, decrease in proliferation of hippocampal precursor cells; they also inhibited hippocampal cell apoptosis, and exhibited an antidepressant-like effect in a depression-like mouse model induced by CMS.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study indicates that each of these CHMs has the potential to ameliorate depression. The possible mechanisms of action include modulation of the HPA axis, reduction in stress hormone levels, inhibition of apoptosis, and promotion of hippocampal neuronal plasticity and neurogenesis.

Recent progress on the traditional Chinese medicines that regulate the blood

In traditional Chinese medicine, the herbs that regulate blood play a vital role. Here, nine herbs including Typhae Pollen, Notoginseng Root, Common Bletilla Tuber, India Madder Root and Rhizome, Chinese Arborvitae Twig, Lignum Dalbergiae Oderiferae, Chuanxiong Rhizoma, Corydalis Tuber, and Motherwort Herb were selected and reviewed for their recent studies on anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory and cardiovascular effects. Besides, the analytical methods developed to qualify or quantify the active compounds of the herbs are also summarized.

Antihypertensive and vasorelaxant effects of Rhizoma corydalis and its active component tetrahydropalmatine via NO/cGMP pathway and calcium channel blockade in isolated rat thoracic aorta

The vasorelaxant effects of RC and THPviathe NO/cGMP pathway and calcium channel blockade in isolated rat thoracic aorta are explored.

LC-MS/MS determination and pharmacokinetic study of dehydrocorydaline in rat plasma after oral administration of dehydrocorydaline and Corydalis yanhusuo extract

A rapid, sensitive and selective liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry method (LC-MS/MS) was developed and validated for determination of dehydrocorydaline (DHC) in rat plasma using nitidine chloride as an internal standard. The analytes were solid-phase extracted and eluted on a C18 chromatography column using a mobile phase of acetonitrile and water (containing 0.8% formic acid and 10 mM ammonium acetate) (28:72, v/v). Detection was performed using positive ion electrospray ionization in multiple reaction monitoring modes. The assay was linear over the concentration range 0.625-250 ng/mL with a quantification limit of 0.625 ng/mL. The precision was <13.7%, the accuracy >93.1%, and extraction recovery ranged from 92.1% to 107%. The validated method was successfully applied to the pharmacokinetics and excretion study of DHC in rat plasma after oral administration of pure DHC and an effective fraction of Corydalis yanhusuo (EFY). The pharmacokinetic parameters showed that DHC from EFY was absorbed more rapidly and eliminated more slowly than pure DHC. The result suggests that the differences might be due to the presence of P-glycoprotein (P-gp) inhibitors and that other alkaloids co-existing in the EFY may compete with DHC for transportation by P-gp, metabolization by P450, and binding to plasma proteins.

Corydalis yanhusuo W.T. Wang extract inhibits MCF-7 cell proliferation by inducing cell cycle G2/M arrest

Corydalis yanhusuo W.T. Wang (YHS) is a traditional Chinese herb widely prescribed for promoting blood circulation, reinforcing vital energy and alleviating pain. Our previous studies showed that an ethanol extract of YHS inhibits metastasis of breast cancer cells in vitro. In the present study, the anti-proliferative effect of the extract was determined by MTT assay and the LDH release was measured with a commercial kit. Intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) were monitored by CM- H(2)DCF-DA and JC-1 staining, respectively. Cell cycle was analyzed with propidium iodide (PI) staining by flow cytometry and protein expressions were measured by Western blotting. The YHS extract significantly inhibited MCF-7 cell proliferation in a dose-dependent manner. Significant increase of ROS formation and decrease of ΔΨm were observed. Furthermore, it induced MCF-7 cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phases. In addition, the p-cdc-2/cdc-2 protein expression ratio was increased while Rb and p21 protein expressions were decreased. The YHS extract inhibited MCF-7 proliferation by inducing G2/M cell cycle arrest, which might be mediated by inducing ROS formation, decreasing ΔΨm and regulating cell cycle related protein expressions.