Ethnopharmacological use, pharmacology, toxicology, phytochemistry, and progress in Chinese crude drug processing of the lateral root of Aconitum carmichaelii Debeaux (Fuzi): A review.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsb.2022.05.001

Therapeutic potential of traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of NAFLD: A promising drug Potentilla discolor Bunge

Microplastics (MP), tiny plastic particles, can be ingested by fish through their habitat or contaminated food sources. When combined with a high-fat diet (HFD), MP exposure may lead to increased MP accumulation in fish and negative impacts on their health. However, the underlying mechanisms of how MP and HFD interact to promote fat accumulation in fish remain poorly understood. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the combined effect of HFD and polyethylene MP (PE-MP) in the zebrafish model (Danio rerio) and decipher its molecular mechanisms. Adult zebrafish exposed to the combined HFD and PE-MP showed elevated lipid accumulation, total cholesterol, triglycerides, and abnormal swimming behavior compared to HFD-fed fish. Histological and gene expression analysis revealed severe hepatic inflammation and injury, resembling nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in the HFD + PE-MP exposed zebrafish. Moreover, HFD and PE-MP exposure upregulated genes related to lipogenesis (SREBP1, FAS, and C/EBPα) and inflammation (tnfα, il1β, and il-6) in the liver. These findings underscore the interactive effect of environmental pollutants and fish diet, emphasizing the importance of improving fish culture practices to safeguard fish health and human consumers from microplastic contamination through the food chain. This research sheds light on the complex interactions between microplastics and diet, providing valuable insights into the potential risks of microplastic pollution in aquatic ecosystems and the implications for human health. Understanding the underlying molecular mechanisms will contribute to international research efforts to mitigate the adverse effects of microplastics on both environmental and public health. 

Combined effects of a high-fat diet and polyethylene microplastic exposure induce impaired lipid metabolism and locomotor behavior in larvae and adult zebrafish.

Safety has always been an important issue affecting the development of traditional Chinese medicine industry, especially for toxic medicinal materials, the establishment of risk prevention and control measures for toxic herbs is of great significance to improving the use of traditional Chinese medicine in clinical. Fuzi is a kind of traditional Chinese medicine and its toxicity has become the most important obstacle of limit in clinical using. In this paper, network pharmacology and molecular docking technology were used to analyze the main toxic components of Fuzi, the key targets and the mechanism of neurotoxicity. We carried out CCK-8 and WB assays, and detected LDH release and SDH activity. It was verified that aconitine caused neurotoxicity through a variety of pathways, including MAPK signaling pathway, pathways related to Akt protein, destruction of cell membrane integrity, damage of mitochondrial function affecting energy metabolism and apoptosis. What's more, this study confirmed that aconitine could produce neurotoxicity by promoting apoptosis of hippocampus neuron and decreasing its quantity through Nissl Staining and TUNEL assay. This paper found and confirmed multiple targets and various pathways causing neurotoxicity of Fuzi, in order to provide reference for clinical application and related research. 

/pdf/exploring-the-mechanisms-of-neurotoxicity-caused-by-fuzi-38trnsn7.pdf

Exploring the mechanisms of neurotoxicity caused by fuzi using network pharmacology and molecular docking

Lizhong decoction (LZD), a classical herbal prescription recorded by Zhang Zhongjing in Treatise on Febrile and Miscellaneous Diseases, has been extensively used to treat ulcerative colitis (UC) in clinical practice for thousands of years. However, its material basis and underlying mechanism are not yet clear.This study aims to explore the material basis and potential mechanism of LZD against UC based on the spectrum-effect relationship and network pharmacology.First, LZD was extracted by a systematic solvent extraction method into four parts. Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography tandem quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS) technique was used to identify the compounds from different polar parts, and dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis model was used to evaluate the efficacy of each fraction. Then, the spectrum-effect analyses of compounds and efficacy indicators were established via grey relational analysis (GRA), bivariate correlation analysis (BCA) and partial least squares regression (PLSR). Finally, the potential mechanism of LZD for UC therapy was explored by network pharmacology, and the results were further verified by molecular docking and reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR).66 chemical components of LZD were identified by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS technology. The pharmacodynamic results showed that extraction parts of LZD had different therapeutic effects on UC, among which ethyl acetate and n-butanol extracts had significant anti-colitis effects, which might be the main effective fractions of LZD. Furthermore, the spectrum-effect analyses indicated that 21 active ingredients such as liquiritin apioside, neolicuroside, formononetin, ginsenoside Rg1, 6-gingesulfonic acid, licoricesaponin A3, liquiritin, glycyrrhizic acid were the main material basis for LZD improving UC. Based on the above results, network pharmacology suggested that the amelioration of LZD on UC might be closely related to the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway. Additionally, molecular docking technology and RT-qPCR further verified that LZD could markedly inhibit the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway.Overall, our study first identified the chemical compositions of LZD by using UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS. Furthermore, the material basis and potential mechanism of LZD in improving UC were comprehensively elucidated via spectrum-effect relationships, network pharmacology, molecular docking and experimental verification. The proposed strategy provided a systematic approach for exploring how herbal medicines worked. More importantly, it laid the solid foundation for further clinical application and rational development of LZD. 

Investigation of the material basis and mechanism of Lizhong decoction in ameliorating ulcerative colitis based on spectrum-effect relationship and network pharmacology.

Fuzi Lizhong decoction (FLD) is derived from an ancient Chinese Pharmacopoeia and has been used in clinical treatment for years. The present study aimed to investigate the activities and underlying mechanisms of FLD against non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Network pharmacology analysis demonstrated that FLD might affect NAFLD through regulating p53 and peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma (PPARG), which has been confirmed in vitro and in vivo. In vivo NAFLD was induced in rats by a high-fat diet, and in vitro studies were performed on HL-7702 cells treated with oleic acid and linoleic acid. We showed that FLD significantly improved NAFLD by regulating the immune system to induce the release of interleukin-10 (IL-10), interferon-α (IFN-α), and IFN-β through activating p53 signaling and inhibiting PPARG signaling in vivo and in vitro. P53 inhibition induced by NAFLD was recused by FLD, while PPARG overexpression induced by NAFLD was inhibited by FLD. In addition, NAFLD resulted in increased levels of total cholesterol, triglyceride, and blood glucose in the serum and free fatty acid in the liver, which were reduced by FLD treatment. Evidently, FLD exhibited potent protective effects against NAFLD via p53 and PPARG signaling. Our study could provide novel insights into the mechanisms of FLD as an anti-inflammatory candidate for the treatment of NAFLD in the future.

Protective Effect of Fuzi Lizhong Decoction against Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease via Anti-inflammatory Response through Regulating p53 and PPARG Signaling.

Objective Sijunzi, Lizhong, and Fuzilizhong decoction were traditional Chinese classic formulations, which are widely used in clinical treatment, and the underlying mechanism is unclear. In this study, we aim to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying the protective effects of Sijunzi, Lizhong, and Fuzilizhong on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Methods Male Wistar rats were fed a high-fat diet for four weeks to induce NAFLD and were thereafter administered Sijunzi (8 g/kg/d), Lizhong (10 g/kg/d), or Fuzilizhong (10 g/kg/d) by gavage for four weeks. Hepatic damage, lipid accumulation, inflammation, autophagy, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α signaling were evaluated. Results The high-fat diet-fed rats showed typical symptoms of NAFLD, including elevated levels of hepatic damage indicators, increased hepatic lipid deposition and fibrosis, severe liver inflammation, and prominent autophagy. Upon administration of Sijunzi, Lizhong, and Fuzilizhong, liver health was improved remarkably, along with ameliorated symptoms of NAFLD. In addition, NAFLD-suppressed peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α signaling was reactivated after treatment with the three types of decoctions. Conclusions The results collectively signify the effective therapeutic and protective functions of Sijunzi, Lizhong, and Fuzilizhong against NAFLD and demonstrate the potential of Chinese herbal medication in mitigating the symptoms of liver diseases. Novelty of the Work. Traditional Chinese herbal medicine has been used for centuries to treat various diseases, but the molecular mechanisms of individual ingredients have rarely been studied. The novelty of our work lies in elucidating the specific signaling pathways involved in the control of NAFLD using three common Chinese herbal decoctions. We suggest that natural herbal formulations can be effective therapeutic agents to combat against NAFLD.

/pdf/sijunzi-lizhong-and-fuzilizhong-decoction-alleviate-1kkdqqxmj1.pdf

Sijunzi, Lizhong, and Fuzilizhong Decoction Alleviate Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease through Activation of PPAR Pathway.

Handle everyday research tasks with reliable, citation-backed results

Your personal Research Agent to handle research tasks with citation-backed results

Popular Tasks used by Researchers

How can I help with your research?

Meet SciSpace

Get more enhanced response by uploading the PDFs you want me to reference.

No relevant PDFs in your library

SciSpace is the AI research assistant for academics. Run systematic literature reviews on 280M+ papers, and write papers with cited sources. Trusted by 1M+ students, PhDs & researchers.

SciSpace | AI for Research

Analyze PDFs

Code & Manuscripts

Funding & Grants

Literature & Patents

Medical & Clinical Data

Systematic Review

Visualize & Present

Web & Data

Build a Google Scholar-like website for your research.

Build a website

Create charts and images for your research

Create a Chart

Write a paper for submission to a journal

Draft a manuscript

Patent Search

Design eye-catching scientific posters in minutes.

Scientific Poster Generation

Systematic Literature Review

One task is running at the moment. Your messages will be shown right after.

Drag and drop or click here to browse

Loved by <highlight>1 million+</highlight> researchers

Extract a list of specific topics and their sources from unstructured text

Topics

Compare and analyze relevant papers that matches with your search

Papers

Get insights from PDFs and bookmarked papers from your library

My library

Recent searches

Try searching for:

Catch AI-generated content in scholarly and non-scholarly content

{ai} Detector

Ai Writer

Get PDF Summaries, highlighted text explanations 

Chat with PDF

Effortlessly create in-text citations and bibliographies in APA and 2,500 other formats

Citation generator

Get explanations, summaries, and answers on academic papers

Ease up your research workflow with {scispace}'s cohort of exciting AI tools

Elevate your academic writing skills and convey your ideas the way you want

Paraphraser

Explore our range of reading and writing tools

Your file is being prepared and should be ready in a few minutes. If it's a large file, it might take a bit longer. You can close this window, and we'll email you the file when it's done.

You have reached a maximum limit of <strong>{limit}</strong> columns in the table. Remove at least <strong>1</strong> column to add or create another one.

Chenyu Li

Author Tools

Chat about Author

Papers

Protective Effect of Fuzi Lizhong Decoction against Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease via Anti-inflammatory Response through Regulating p53 and PPARG Signaling.

Sijunzi, Lizhong, and Fuzilizhong Decoction Alleviate Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease through Activation of PPAR Pathway.