Effects of Chinese herbal medicines on the occurrence of diabetic retinopathy in type 2 diabetes patients and protection of ARPE-19 retina cells by inhibiting oxidative stress

Abstract

Diabetic retinopathy is a microvascular complication of type 2 diabetes and the leading cause of acquired blindness. In Taiwan, Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) is a popular adjunctive therapy. In this study, we investigated the CHM prescription patterns and their effects. We identified 23,701 subjects with type 2 diabetes in a database, and after matching for age and gender, 6,948 patients each were assigned to CHM and non-CHM groups. In the female subgroups, the cumulative retinopathy probability was lower for the CHM users than that for the CHM non-users (P < 0.001, log-rank test). Among the top 10 CHMs, Jia-Wei-Xiao-Yao-San (JWXYS; 52.9%), Shu-Jing-Huo-Xue-Tang (SJHXT; 45.1%), and Ge-Gen-Tang (GGT; 43.7%) were the most common herbal formulas. Yan-Hu-Suo (48.1%), Ge-Gen (42.1%), and Huang-Qin (HQin; 40.1%) were the most common single herbs. CHM network analysis showed that JWXYS was the core CHM of cluster 1. JWXYS, DS, XF, and SZRT exhibited both of the reductions of H2O2-induced phosphorylation of p38 MAPK and p44/42 MAPK (Erk1/2) in human ARPE-19 retina cells. In cluster 2, SJHXT was the core CHM. SJHXT and NX showed both of the phosphorylation reductions. In cluster 3, GGT was the core CHM, and it reduced the phosphorylation of both MAPKs. In cluster 4, HQin was the core CHM, and it also reduced the phosphorylation of both MAPKs. Our study suggests that adjunctive CHM therapy may reduce diabetic retinopathy via antioxidant activity of the herbs and provides information on core CHM treatments for further scientific investigations or therapeutic interventions.

DPPH Radical Scavenging and Postprandial Hyperglycemia Inhibition Activities and Flavonoid Composition Analysis of Hawk Tea by UPLC-DAD and UPLC-Q/TOF MSE

“…Persistent oxidative stress would impair pancreatic beta-cell function [ 21 ], and then lead to diabetic nephropathy [ 18 ], diabetic cardiomyopathy [ 22 ], diabetic retinopathy and other complications [ 23 ]. Recently, herbs having antioxidant activity have begun to be investigated as potential and adjunctive therapeutic agents for diabetes [ 18 , 24 ]. In our study, the DPPH radical scavenging activity of Sichuan Hawk PLT was the strongest in all kinds of Hawk tea sample, so the Hawk PLT sample S11, a kind of national geography symbol protected products from Shimian County of Sichuan Province which is the main producing area of Hawk tea, was chosen to be used in this test.…”

Complementary Chinese Herbal Medicine Therapy Improves Survival in Patients With Pemphigus: A Retrospective Study From a Taiwan-Based Registry

“…), Jin-Yin-Hua (JYH; Flos lonicerae; Lonicera japonica Thunb. and Di-Gu-Pi (DGP; Cortex lycii; Lycium barbarum L.), all reduced the phosphorylation of p38 MAPK protein (Choi et al, 2013;Song et al, 2014;Kao et al, 2015;Chao et al, 2016;Tsai et al, 2017b). The herbal biomarkers of Jia-Wei-Xiao-Yao-San include saikosaponin A, saikosaponin D, ferulic acid and paeoniflorin (Lu et al, 2013).…”

Inhibition of Starvation-Triggered Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress, Autophagy, and Apoptosis in ARPE-19 Cells by Taurine through Modulating the Expression of Calpain-1 and Calpain-2

“…Taurine is a sulfur free β-amino acid, in which the amino group is located on the β-carbon [ 34 ]. It is now widely accepted that taurine plays a crucial role in the development of many chronic diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and Alzheimer’s disease [ 58 , 59 , 60 ]. Taurine serves as a protective amino acid in the H9C2 cardiomyocyte, PC12 cells [ 31 , 33 ].…”