Protective effects of Chinese herbal monomers against ischemia-reperfusion injury.

Objectives: Ischemia-reperfusion injury is a complicated pathologic process that involves multiple factors including oxidative stress, endoplasmic reticulum stress, calcium overload, inflammatory response, disturbances in energy metabolism, apoptosis, and some newly-described forms of programmed cell death (e.g., necroptosis, autophagy, pyroptosis, patanatos, and ferroptosis). Chinese herbal monomers (CHMs) have long been applied to treat ischemia-reperfusion injury based on a solid research foundation. This paper objectively reviews in vitro and in vivo studies on the use of CHMs to protect against ischemia-reperfusion injury.

Methods: We reviewed 31 CHMs that have been shown to be effective for treating ischemia-reperfusion injury models of the heart, brain, and kidney. According to the mechanism of action, these CHMs were divided into three categories: protecting damaged histocytes, inhibiting inflammatory cells, and promoting the proliferation of damaged histocytes. Some CHMs were found to have more than one mechanism at the same time.

Results: Of the 31 CHMs, 28 protect damaged histocytes, 13 inhibit inflammatory cells, and three promote the proliferation of damaged histocytes.

Conclusions: CHMs show promise for treating ischemia-reperfusion injury. The eexisting treatment experiences for ischemia-reperfusion injury can be used as a reference.