Publications by authors named "Kui J Zhao"

Background: Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has contributed greatly to human health in past several thousand years. Today, the development of TCM is facing two obstacles: (i) quality control of herbal extract; and (ii) action mechanisms not known.

Objectives: Among thousands of complex TCM formulations, Danggui Buxue Tang (DBT) is the simplest one.

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Ethnopharmacological Evidence: Danggui buxue tang (DBT), a Chinese medicinal decoction that is being commonly used as hematopoietic medicine to treating woman menopausal irregularity, contains two herbs: radix Astragali and radix Angelicae Sinensis. Pharmacological results indicate that DBT can stimulate the production of erythropoietin (EPO), a specific hematopoietic growth factor, in cultured cells.

Aim Of The Study: In order to reveal the mechanism of DBT's hematopoietic function, this study investigated the activity of the DBT-induced EPO expression and the upstream regulatory cascade of EPO via hypoxia-induced signaling in cultured kidney fibroblasts (HEK293T).

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Herein, we test the hypothesis that a member of a formulated Chinese herbal decoction cannot be replaced by another herb. Danggui Buxue Tang (DBT) is being used as an example for illustration: this is a traditional decoction containing Radix Astragali (RA) and Radix Angelicae Sinensis (RAS) in a weight ratio of 5 to 1. Rhizoma Chuanxiong (RC) and RAS are two chemically very similar herbs but with a distinct function.

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Danggui Buxue Tang (DBT), a Chinese herbal decoction used to treat ailments in women, contains Radix Astragali (Huangqi; RA) and Radix Angelicae Sinensis (Danggui; RAS). When DBT was applied onto cultured MG-63 cells, an increase of cell proliferation and differentiation of MG-63 cell were revealed: both of these effects were significantly higher in DBT than RA or RAS extract. To search for the biological markers that are specifically regulated by DBT, DNA microarray was used to reveal the gene expression profiling of DBT in MG-63 cells as compared to that of RA- or RAS-treated cells.

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Danggui Buxue Tang (DBT), a Chinese medicinal decoction used commonly for treating women's ailments, contains Radix Astragali (RA) and Radix Angelicae Sinensis (RAS). According to Chinese medicinal theory, this decoction is to nourish the blood function; this, however, has not been demonstrated on the molecular level. In order to reveal the hematopoietic effect of this decoction, DBT was applied to cultured Hep3B human hepatocellular carcinoma cells.

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Danggui Buxue Tang (DBT) is prepared from Radix Astragali and Radix Angelicae Sinensis. This Chinese herbal decoction has been shown to stimulate the proliferation of T-lymphocytes; however, the action mechanism of this stimulation has not been revealed. In cultured T-lymphocytes, application of DBT markedly induced the cell proliferation, the release of interleukin-2, -6 and -10, as well as the phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK).

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Danggui buxue tang (DBT), a Chinese herbal decoction used to treat ailments in women, contains radix Astragali (Huangqi; RA) and radix Angelicae Sinensis (Danggui; RAS). The weight ratio of RA to RAS used in DBT must be 5:1 as stipulated as early as AD 1247; however, DBT's mechanism of action has never been described. Here, the estrogenic effects of DBT were investigated by determining the phosphorylations of estrogen receptor alpha (ER alpha) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (Erk1/2) in cultured MCF-7 cells.

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Danggui Buxue Tang (DBT), a Chinese medicinal decoction that is used commonly for treating women's ailments, contains Radix Astragali and Radix Angelicae Sinensis. The ratio of Radix Astragali and Radix Angelicae Sinensis used in DBT should be 5 : 1 as described in China in 1247 A.D.

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Danggui Buxue Tang (DBT), a Chinese medicinal decoction that is commonly used as a dietary supplement in treating woman with menopausal irregularity, contains two herbs: Radix Astragali (Huangqi) and Radix Angelicae Sinensis (Danggui). The ratio of Radix Astragali and Radix Angelicae Sinensis used in DBT should be 5:1 as described in China in 1247 A.D.

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Rhizoma Curcumae (Ezhu) is a traditional Chinese medicine that has been used in removing blood stasis and alleviating pain for over a thousand years. Three species of Curcuma rhizomes are being used, which include Curcuma wenyujin, Curcuma phaeocaulis, and Curcuma kwangsiensis. In China, the production of Rhizoma Curcumae largely depends on agricultural farming.

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Danggui Buxue Tang (DBT) is a simple decoction, having about 800 years of usage in China to treat menopausal irregularity in women, which contains two herbs: Radix Astragali (Huangqi) and Radix Angelicae Sinensis (Danggui). Traditionally, boiling water has been used for preparing DBT; however, the optimized conditions of extraction have not yet been determined. Here, the amounts of Radix Astragali-derived astragaloside IV, calycosin, formononetin, and Radix Angelicae Sinensis-derived ferulic acid and ligustilide were determined in DBT, which were extracted according to an orthogonal array experimental design having three variable parameters: extraction time, extraction volume and number of repeats of the extraction.

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Root of Panax notoginseng (Radix Notoginseng, Sanqi) is a well-known traditional Chinese medicine and is mainly cultivated in Wenshan of Yunnan, China. The active constituents include saponin, dencichine, flavonoid, and polysaccharide; however, the levels of these components vary in different geographical regions of growth and also show a seasonal variation. By using high-performance liquid chromatography and spectrophotometry, the contents of notoginsenoside R1, ginsenoside R(g1), R(b1), R(d), dencichine, flavonoid, and polysaccharide were determined and compared with Radix Notoginseng collected from different regions of growth in China, as well as from different seasons of harvest and market grades.

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Cordyceps sinensis, a well-known traditional Chinese medicine, possesses activities in anti-tumour, anti-oxidation and stimulating the immune system; however, the identity of active component(s) is not determined. By using anti-oxidation activity-guided fractionation, a polysaccharide of molecular weight approximately 210 kDa was isolated from cultured Cordyceps mycelia by ion-exchange and sizing chromatography. The isolated polysaccharide, having strong anti-oxidation activity, contains glucose, mannose and galactose in a ratio of 1 : 0.

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The roots of Angelica sinensis (Danggui), a traditional Chinese medicine, have been used for invigorating blood circulation for over 2000 years in China. Three common species of Angelica roots are found in Asia: A. sinensis from China, A.

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