Project description:<p>The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) has established the Drug-Induced Liver Injury Network (DILIN) to collect and analyze cases of severe liver injury caused by prescription drugs, over-the-counter drugs, and alternative medicines, such as herbal products and supplements.</p>
Project description:Herbal compatibility is the knowledge of which herbs to combine in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formulations. The lack of understanding of herbal compatibility is one of the key problems for the application and popularization of TCM in western society. Because of the chemical complexity of herbal medicines, it is simpler to begin to conduct compatibility research based on herbs rather than component plant secondary metabolites. We have used transcriptome analysis to explore the effects and interactions of two plant extracts (Kushen and Baituling) combined in Compound Kushen Injection (CKI). Based on shared chemical compounds and in vitro cytotoxicity comparisons, we found that both the major compounds in CKI, and the cytotoxicity effects of CKI were mainly derived from the extract of Kushen (Sophorae flavescentis). We generated and analyzed transcriptome data from MDA-MB-231 cells treated with single-herb extracts or CKI and results showed that Kushen contributed to the perturbation of the majority of cytotoxicity/cancer related pathways in CKI such as cell cycle and DNA replication. We also found that Baituling (Heterosmilax yunnanensis Gagnep) could not only enhance the cytotoxic effects of Kushen in CKI, but also activate immune-related pathways. Our analyses predicted that IL-1[beta] gene expression was upregulated by Baituling in CKI and we confirmed that IL-1[beta] protein expression was increased using an ELISA assay. Altogether, these findings help to explain the rationale for combining Kushen and Baituling in CKI, and show that transcriptome analysis using single herb extracts is an effective method for understanding herbal compatibility in TCM.
Project description:In this work, we explore the association of chitosan in O/W microemulsions to produce potential mucoadhesive vehicles for the administration of herbal medicines. These bioactive have potential previously described for candidiasis treatment (extract of Stryphnodendron adstringens (Mart.) Coville shells and Melaleuca alternifolia Chell essential oil).
Project description:Our study provides detailed analysis of DF-induced transcriptomes generated by RNA-Seq technology. RNA-Seq based transcriptome analyzes would elucidate complex molecular mechanisms of multi-herbal composition like DF
Project description:The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of dietary plant and animal proteins on gut metabolism and markers for colorectal cancer as well as blood protein metabolites and markers for type 2 diabetes in healthy adults. The study participants will be stratified into three groups with different protein composition in diets: 1) animal 70%/plant 30%; 2) animal 50%/plant 50% and 3) animal 30%/plant 70%. The participants will get part of their diet as ready foods or raw material to promote their compliance. The participants will also get personal advice for their diets. Blood, stool and urine samples will be collected in the beginning and in the end of the 12 week intervention, as well as phenotype measures like BMI, blood pressure and body composition. The participants will also fill food diary before and in the end of the intervention.
Project description:Baicalein is a bioactive compound that is found in an herbal plant, Oroxylum indicum, grown in Southeast Asia including Thailand. There are several reports investigating on the bioactivities of baicalein including an anticancer activity. However, there is no report on the anticancer activity of the baicalein in nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Thus, the aim of this study is to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) that are targets of baicalein in order to reveal cellular pathways and molecular mechanisms of the baicalein in nasopharyngeal carcinoma. In this study, NPC HK-1 cells were used as an NPC representative and treated with 10 and 20 µM baicalein for 24 hours before collecting cells for whole transcriptome profiles. The results revealed that a number of cellular pathways, based on KEGG enrichment analysis, are affected baicalein treatment such as focal adhesion and PI3K-Akt signaling pathway which were also phenotypically related to cell migration and invasion assays. Changes in transcriptome profiles of baicalein-treated HK-1 cells would provide insight on baicalein activity in NPC.
