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Zanthoxylum bungeanum Maxim. (Rutaceae) is a popular food additive and traditional Chinese herbal medicine commonly named HuaJiao in China. This plant is widely distributed in Asian countries. The aim of this paper is to provide a systematic review on the traditional usages, botany, phytochemistry, pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, and toxicology of this plant. Furthermore, the possible development and perspectives for future research on this plant are also discussed. To date, over 140 compounds have been isolated and identified from Z. bungeanum, including alkaloids, terpenoids, flavonoids, and free fatty acids. The extracts and compounds have been shown to possess wide-ranging biological activity, such as anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects, antioxidant and anti-tumor effects, antibacterial and antifungal effects, as well as regulatory effects on the gastrointestinal system and nervous system, and other effects. As a traditional herbal medicine, Z. bungeanum has been widely used to treat many diseases, especially digestive disorders, toothache, stomach ache, and diarrhea. Many traditional usages of this plant have been validated by present investigations. However, further research elucidating the structure-function relationship among chemical compounds, understanding the mechanism of unique sensation, as well as exploring new clinical effects and establishing criteria for quality control for Z. bungeanum should be further studied.

Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide, and approximately 87% of cases are attributed to ischemia. The main factors that cause ischemic stroke include excitotoxicity, energy metabolism disorder, Ca+ overload, oxidative damage, apoptosis, autophagy, and inflammation. However, no effective drug is currently available for the comprehensive treatment of ischemic stroke in clinical applications; thus, there is an urgent need to find and develop comprehensive and effective drugs to treat postischemic stroke. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has unique advantages in treating ischemic stroke, with overall regulatory effects at multiple levels and on multiple targets. Many researchers have studied the effective components of TCMs and have achieved undeniable results. This paper reviews studies on the anticerebral ischemia effects of TCM monomers such as tetramethylpyrazine (TMP), dl-3-n-butylphthalide (NBP), ginsenoside Rg1 (Rg1), tanshinone IIA (TSA), gastrodin (Gas), and baicalin (BA) as well as effective extracts such as Ginkgo biloba extract (EGB). Research on the anticerebral ischemia effects of TCMs has focused mostly on their antioxidative stress, antiapoptotic, anti-inflammatory, proangiogenic, and proneurogenic effects. However, the research on the use of TCM to treat ischemic stroke remains incompletely characterized. Thus, we summarized and considered this topic from the perspective of pharmacokinetics, pharmacological effects, and mechanistic research, and we have provided a reference basis for future research and development on anticerebral ischemia TCM drugs.

Therapeutic antibodies targeting PD-1 have made major breakthroughs in cancer treatment. However, the majority of colorectal cancer (CRC) cases are microsatellite stable (MSS) and do not respond to anti-PD-1-based immunotherapy. Combination therapy will be an ideal strategy to overcome this limitation. Gegen Qinlian decoction (GQD), a classical traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formula, has been clinically proven to be effective in the treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC) and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Here, a systemic pharmacological study revealed that GQD acts through multiple targets and pathways in the human body. Combination therapy with GQD and anti-mouse PD-1 potently inhibited the growth of CT26 tumours in a xenograft model. Gut microbiota analysis revealed that combination therapy with GQD and anti-mouse PD-1 significantly enriched for s__Bacteroides_acidifaciens and s__uncultured_organism_g__norank_f__Bacteroidales_S24-7_group . Based on metabolomic analyses, profoundly altered metabolites were identified in the combination therapy group. Two metabolic signalling pathways, namely, glycerophospholipid metabolism and sphingolipid metabolism, were explored. In particular, we found that combination therapy with GQD and anti-mouse PD-1 significantly increased the proportion of CD8+ T cells in peripheral blood and tumour tissues. Direct treatment with GQD and anti-mouse PD-1 increased the expression of IFN-γ, which is a critical factor in antitumour immunotherapy. In addition, combination therapy with GQD and anti-mouse PD-1 downregulated PD-1 and increased IL-2 levels, suggesting that the combination therapy could effectively restore T-cell functions by suppressing inhibitory checkpoints. The application of the Chinese medicinal formula GQD with PD-1 blockade-based immunotherapy can be a novel therapeutic strategy for CRC patients with MSS tumours.

Osteoporosis is a bone disease characterized by reduced bone mass, which leads to increased risk of bone fractures, and poses a significant risk to public health, especially in the elderly population. The traditional Chinese medicinal herb Epimedii has been utilized for centuries to treat bone fracture and bone loss. Icariin is a prenylated flavonol glycoside isolated from Epimedium herb, and has been shown to be the main bioactive component. This review provides a comprehensive survey of previous studies on icariin, including its structure and function, effect on bone metabolism, and potential for clinical application. These studies show that icariin promotes bone formation by stimulating osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs (bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells), while inhibiting osteoclastogenic differentiation and the bone resorption activity of osteoclasts. Furthermore, icariin has been shown to be more potent than other flavonoid compounds in promoting osteogenic differentiation and maturation of osteoblasts. A 24-month randomized double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial reported that icariin was effective in preventing postmenopausal osteoporosis with relatively low side effects. In conclusion, icariin may represent a class of flavonoids with bone-promoting activity, which could be used as potential treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis.

[...]more evidence is required through controlled clinical trials to support the efficacy of these herbal drugs. Because the patent herbal drugs are produced in advance of any treatment and their composition is fixed, clinical endpoints including mortality, time to clinical improvement, and number of days in an intensive care unit can be used to evaluate the efficacy of the herbal drugs for COVID-19. [...]the public can easily purchase herbal drugs without a doctor's prescription.

Over years, various biological constituents are isolated from Traditional Chinese Medicine and confirmed to show multifunctional activities. Magnolol, a hydroxylated biphenyl natural compound isolated from Magnolia officinalis, has been extensively documented and shows a range of biological activities. Many signaling pathways include, but are not limited to, NF-κB/MAPK, Nrf2/HO-1, and PI3K/Akt pathways, which are implicated in the biological functions mediated by magnolol. Thus, magnolol is considered as a promising therapeutic agent for clinic research. However, the low water solubility, the low bioavailability, and the rapid metabolism of magnolol dramatically limit its clinical application. In this review, we will comprehensively discuss the last five-year progress of the biological activities of magnolol, including anti-inflammatory, antimicroorganism, antioxidative, anticancer, neuroprotective, cardiovascular protection, metabolism regulation, and ion-mediating activity.

Currently, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, formerly known as 2019-nCoV, the causative pathogen of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)) has rapidly spread across China and around the world, causing an outbreak of acute infectious pneumonia. No specific anti-virus drugs or vaccines are available for the treatment of this sudden and lethal disease. The supportive care and non-specific treatment to ameliorate the symptoms of the patient are the only options currently. At the top of these conventional therapies, greater than 85% of SARS-CoV-2 infected patients in China are receiving Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) treatment. In this article, relevant published literatures are thoroughly reviewed and current applications of TCM in the treatment of COVID-19 patients are analyzed. Due to the homology in epidemiology, genomics, and pathogenesis of the SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV, and the widely use of TCM in the treatment of SARS-CoV, the clinical evidence showing the beneficial effect of TCM in the treatment of patients with SARS coronaviral infections are discussed. Current experiment studies that provide an insight into the mechanism underlying the therapeutic effect of TCM, and those studies identified novel naturally occurring compounds with anti-coronaviral activity are also introduced.

Salvia miltiorrhiza Burge (Danshen) is an eminent medicinal herb that possesses broad cardiovascular and cerebrovascular protective actions and has been used in Asian countries for many centuries. Accumulating evidence suggests that Danshen and its components prevent vascular diseases, in particular, atherosclerosis and cardiac diseases, including myocardial infarction, myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury, arrhythmia, cardiac hypertrophy and cardiac fibrosis. The published literature indicates that lipophilic constituents (tanshinone I, tanshinone IIa, tanshinone IIb, cryptotanshinone, dihydrotanshinone, etc) as well as hydrophilic constituents (danshensu, salvianolic acid A and B, protocatechuic aldehyde, etc) contribute to the cardiovascular protective actions of Danshen, suggesting a potential synergism among these constituents. Herein, we provide a systematic up-to-date review on the cardiovascular actions and therapeutic potential of major pharmacologically active constituents of Danshen. These bioactive compounds will serve as excellent drug candidates in small-molecule cardiovascular drug discovery. This article also provides a scientific rationale for understanding the traditional use of Danshen in cardiovascular therapeutics.

Huanglian Jiedu Decoction (HLJDD) is a classical herbal formula with potential efficacy in the treatment of sepsis. However, the main components and potential mechanisms of HLJDD remain unclear. This study aims to initially clarify the potential mechanism of HLJDD in the treatment of sepsis based on network pharmacology and molecular docking techniques. The principal components and corresponding protein targets of HLJDD were searched on TCMSP, BATMAN-TCM and ETCM and the compound-target network was constructed by Cytoscape3.8.2. Sepsis targets were searched on OMIM and DisGeNET databases. The intersection of compound target and disease target was obtained and the coincidence target was imported into STRING database to construct a PPI network. We further performed GO and KEGG enrichment analysis on the targets. Finally, molecular docking study was approved for the core target and the active compound. There are 257 nodes and 792 edges in the component target network. The compounds with a higher degree value are quercetin, kaempferol, and wogonin. The protein with a higher degree in the PPI network is JUN, RELA, TNF. GO and KEGG analysis showed that HLJDD treatment of sepsis mainly involves positive regulation of transcription from RNA polymerase II promoter, negative regulation of apoptosis process, response to hypoxia and other biological processes. The signaling pathways mainly include PI3K-AKT, MAPK, TNF signaling pathway. The molecular docking results showed that quercetin, kaempferol and wogonin have higher affinity with JUN, RELA and TNF. This study reveals the active ingredients and potential molecular mechanism of HLJDD in the treatment of sepsis, and provides a reference for subsequent basic research. •Network pharmacology was utilized to determine the mechanisms and targets of HLJDD.•Molecular docking elucidated three key anti-sepsis components in HLJDD.•The combining of molecular docking and network pharmacology provides a way for the study of traditional Chinese medicine.

Chronic liver dysfunction or injury is a serious health problem worldwide. Chronic liver disease involves a wide range of liver pathologies that include fatty liver, hepatitis, fibrosis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. The efficiency of current synthetic agents in treating chronic liver disease is not satisfactory and they have undesirable side effects. Thereby, numerous medicinal herbs and phytochemicals have been investigated as complementary and alternative treatments for chronic liver diseases. Since some herbal products have already been used for the management of liver diseases in some countries or regions, a systematic review on these herbal medicines for chronic liver disease is urgently needed. Herein, we conducted a review describing the potential role, pharmacological studies and molecular mechanisms of several commonly used medicinal herbs and phytochemicals for chronic liver diseases treatment. Their potential toxicity and side effects were also discussed. Several herbal formulae and their biological effects in chronic liver disease treatment as well as the underlying molecular mechanisms are also summarized in this paper. This review article is a comprehensive and systematic analysis of our current knowledge of the conventional medicinal herbs and phytochemicals in treating chronic liver diseases and on the potential pitfalls which need to be addressed in future study.