The flower head of Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat. (Juhua): A paradigm of flowers serving as Chinese dietary herbal medicine

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Dietary herbal medicines are widely used for the prevention and treatment of a variety of diseases due to their pharmacological activities in China. Juhua (the flower head of Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat.), the most representative flower-derived one, which is mainly used for the treatment of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, shows significant activities, such as antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer, and, neuroprotective, as well as effects on the cardiovascular system.

AIMS OF THIS REVIEW

This review aims to provide an overview of the crucial roles of flowers in Chinese dietary herbal medicine, and the pharmaceutical research progress of Juhua (the paradigm of dietary herbal medicine derived from the flower) including its applications in Traditional Chinese medicine and diet, cultivars, phytochemistry, quality control, pharmacology, and toxicity, along with chrysanthemum breeding and biotechnology.

METHOD

The information associated with Chinese dietary herbal medicine, flower-derived medicine, dietary flower, and pharmaceutical research of Juhua, was collected from government reports, classic books of Traditional Chinese medicine, the thesis of doctors of philosophy and maters, and database including Pubmed, Scifinder, Web of Science, Google Scholar, China National Knowledge Internet; and others.

RESULT

All flower-originated crude medicines recorded in Chinese pharmacopeia and their applications were summarized for the first time in this paper. The edible history and development of flowers in China, the theory of Chinese dietary herbal medicines, as well as flowers serving as dietary herbal medicines, were discussed. Moreover, applications in Traditional Chinese medicine and diet, cultivars, phytochemistry, quality control, pharmacology, and safety evaluation of Juhua, together with chrysanthemum breeding and biotechnology, were summarized in this paper.

CONCLUSION

The theory of dietary herbal medicines, which are an important part of the Traditional Chinese medicine system, has a history of thousands of years. Many herbal flowers, serving as dietary herbal medicines, contribute significantly to the prevention and treatment of a variety of diseases for Chinese people. To better benefit human health, more effective supervision practice for dietary herbal medicines is needed. Although various investigations on Juhua have been done, there is a lack of analytical methods for discrimination of cultivar flowers and identification of authenticity. Research on the major compounds with bioactivities, especially those related to its clinical application or healthcare function, as well as their possible mechanize, need be strengthened. More safety evaluation of Juhua should be carried out. The research limitations Juhua is facing exist in all dietary herbal medicine.

Gut microbiota-based discovery of Houttuyniae Herba as a novel prebiotic of Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron with anti-colitis activity

Ulcerative colitis (UC) represents an inflammatory disease characterized by fluctuations in severity, posing substantial challenges in treatment. The gut microbiota plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of UC. This study sought to identify drugs specifically targeting the gut microbiota to mitigate UC. We initiated a meta-analysis on gut microbiota in UC patients to identify UC-associated bacterial strains. Subsequently, we screened 164 dietary herbal medicines in vitro to identify potential prebiotics for the UC-associated bacterium, Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron. The DSS-induced colitis mouse model was utilized to evaluate the anti-colitis efficacy of the identified dietary herbal medicine. Full-length 16 S rRNA amplicon sequencing was employed to observe changes in gut microbiota following dietary herbal medicine intervention. The relative abundance of Bacteroides was notably diminished in UC patients compared to their healthy counterparts. B. thetaiotaomicron exhibited an inverse relationship with UC symptoms, indicating its potential as an anti-colitis agent. In vitro assessments revealed that H. Herba significantly bolstered the proliferation of B. thetaiotaomicron. Further experiments showed that treating DSS-induced mice with an aqueous extract of H. Herba considerably alleviated colitis indicators such as weight loss, colon shortening, disease activity score (DAI), and systemic inflammation. Microbial analysis revealed B. thetaiotaomicron as the sole bacterium substantially augmented by H. Herba in vivo. Overall H. Herba emerges as a promising prebiotic for B. thetaiotaomicron, offering significant anti-colitis benefits. Employing a gut microbiota-centric approach proves valuable in the quest for drug discovery.This study provides a new paradigm for drug discovery that targets the gut microbiota to treat UC.