Chinese Herbal Medicine, Guilu Erxian Glue, as Alternative Medicine for Adverse Side Effects of Chemotherapy in Doxorubicin-Treated Cell and Mouse Models

Abstract

Doxorubicin (DOX), a chemotherapeutic drug, often causes many adverse side effects in patients with cancer, such as weight loss, motor disability, blood circulation defects, myelosuppression, myocardial injury, joint degeneration, and bone loss. The Chinese herbal medicine Guilu Erxian Glue (GEG) has been used in the prevention and treatment of osteoarthritis and osteoporosis for hundreds of years, with considerably fewer side effects. We expected that GEG could serve as a protective and beneficial alternative treatment for DOX-induced adverse side effects. In this study, we evaluated whether GEG can alleviate DOX-induced weight loss, motor disability, abnormal blood circulation, myelosuppression, myocardial injury, joint degeneration, and bone loss by using chemotherapy models of synoviocyte cell line HIG-82 and mice. Moreover, we examined the antioxidant capacity of GEG by using DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) free-radical scavenging. Our results revealed that GEG treatment can significantly enhance DPPH free-radical scavenging and reduce DOX-induced cytotoxicity in synoviocyte HIG-82 cells. In addition, GEG treatment for 2 weeks can significantly relieve weight loss, enhance exhaustive exercise capacity, improve blood circulation, alleviate myocardial oxidative stress and inflammation, and strengthen the tibias of DOX-treated mice. Thus, we suggest that GEG treatment can be a protective and alternative therapy for alleviating chemotherapy-related side effects such as weight loss, motor disability, blood circulation defects, and bone loss.

Safety Evaluation of Natural Drugs in Chronic Skeletal Disorders: A Literature Review of Clinical Trials in the Past 20 years

“…Chemical drugs play a predominant role in the clinical treatment of these CSDs due to their rapid effects ( Rodan and Martin, 2000 ; Gordon and Gordon, 2020 ). However, it has been observed that chemical drugs have many adverse effects ( Lien et al, 2021 ). For example, Gupta, et al ( Gupta, et al, 2019 ) reported bisphosphonates are used to treat OP, resulting in adverse reactions such as o oily skin, fluid retention, nausea, long-term toxicity, and even prostate cancer in males; Christian et al ( Christian et al, 2021 ) reported NSAIDs would lead to cardiovascular, renal and gastrointestinal events in the elderly.…”

Chinese Herbal Medicine Formula Guizhi Li-Zhong Tang as an Alternative to Antibiotic Feed Additives for Preventing Pneumonia in Piglets through Antioxidant, Anti-Inflammatory, and Antiapoptotic Protection

“…The antioxidant activity of GLZ was assessed through a 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH, D9132, Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, MO, USA) assay. The DPPH assay method was similar to that used in our previous research [ 21 ]; the DPPH free radical scavenging of the 0.2% GLZ treatment was analyzed using a mixture of DPPH in methanol. The cytotoxicity to Kupffer cells of the 0.2% GLZ treatment was assessed by using a3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT, M5655, Sigma-Aldrich Co., St. Louis, MO, USA) assay.…”

Traditional Chinese Medicine Yang-Gan-Wan Alleviated Experimental Hepatic Damage by Inhibiting Oxidation, Inflammation, and Apoptosis in Cell and Mouse Models

“…The presence of inflammatory cytokines in Kupffer cells treated with YGW was examined using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Similar to our previous study [ 13 ], purified rat anti-mouse tumor necrosis factor- α (TNF- α ) (88–7324; Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA, USA) and rat anti-mouse interleukin-1 β (IL-1 β ) (88–7013; Invitrogen) were added to a 96-well microwell plate (Thermo Scientific Nunc, Nunc AS, Copenhagen, Denmark). After the plate was washed three times with PBST buffer, the cell supernatant sample and antibody standard were added.…”

“…In this study, the protein expression of SOD2, TNF-α, and caspase 3 in the liver tissue was assessed through Western blotting. Similar to our previous study [13][14][15][16], we homogenized and quantified liver tissues and then transferred them onto polyvinylidene difluoride membranes (GE Healthcare Life Sciences, Barrington, IL, USA). Antibodies against β-actin ( ermo Fisher Scientific), SOD2, TNF-α, and caspase 3 (Cell Signaling Technology) were detected, visualized, and quantified using ImageJ analysis software (version 1.48t, NIH, Wayne Rasband, Washington DC, USA).…”