Department of Biology, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Chin Med. 2007 Nov 29;2:12. doi: 10.1186/1749-8546-2-12.
This article exemplifies a systematic approach to revealing the complexity of Chinese herbal medicine formulae through three levels of scientific research: standardization of herbs, verification of ancient formulae and mechanism studies. We use Danggui Buxue Tang (DBT) as an example for this approach. Among thousands of traditional Chinese medicine herbal formulae, almost all of which consist of multiple herbs, DBT is one of the simplest. Containing only two herbs, namely Radix Astragali (RA) and Radix Angelicae Sinensis (RAS), DBT is traditionally used to treat ailments in women. The weight ratio of RA to RAS in DBT was prescribed to be 5:1 as early as in 1247 AD. In addition to advanced chemical analysis of herbal constituents, DNA genotyping techniques have been developed for reliable standardization of RA and RAS. Chemical evaluation shows that main active constituents in DBT, including astragaloside IV, calycosin, formononetin and ferulic acid, were most abundant after extraction at the RA to RAS ratio of 5:1, whereas other tested RA to RAS ratios only gave sub-optimal levels of the active constituents. Biological evaluation indicates that bioactivities of DBT, e.g. immuno-modulatory, oesteotropic and estrogenic effects are also best exerted at the RA to RAS ratio of 5:1. Correlation analysis demonstrates statistically significant relationship between the tested chemical constituents and tested bioactivities. Up- and down-regulation of expression of some genes as potential biomarkers has been detected by using gene chip technology. This systematic approach on the basis of herbal standardization, chemical and biological verification and mechanism studies, as exemplified in this article, will be useful to reveal the complexity of not only DBT but also other Chinese medicine herbal formulae.
本文通过三个层次的科学研究，即草药标准化、古方验证和机制研究，举例说明了揭示中药方剂复杂性的系统方法。我们以当归补血汤（DBT）为例来说明这种方法。在数以千计的中药方剂中，几乎所有方剂都由多种草药组成，而 DBT 是最简单的方剂之一。DBT 仅由两种草药组成，即黄芪（RA）和当归（RAS），传统上用于治疗女性疾病。早在公元 1247 年，DBT 中 RA 与 RAS 的重量比就被规定为 5:1。除了对草药成分进行先进的化学分析外，还开发了 DNA 基因分型技术来可靠地标准化 RA 和 RAS。化学评价表明，DBT 的主要活性成分，包括黄芪甲苷 IV、毛蕊异黄酮、芒柄花素和阿魏酸，在 RA 与 RAS 比例为 5:1 提取时含量最丰富，而其他测试的 RA 与 RAS 比例仅给出了活性成分的次优水平。生物评价表明，DBT 的生物活性，如免疫调节、成骨作用和雌激素作用，在 RA 与 RAS 比例为 5:1 时也最佳发挥。相关性分析表明，测试的化学成分与测试的生物活性之间存在显著的统计学关系。通过基因芯片技术检测到一些作为潜在生物标志物的基因表达的上调和下调。本文举例说明了基于草药标准化、化学和生物验证以及机制研究的这种系统方法，不仅对 DBT，而且对其他中药方剂的复杂性的揭示都将是有用的。
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