Synergistic Antioxidant Activities of Eight Traditional Chinese Herb Pairs

Abstract

Oxidative stress is mainly induced by reactive oxygen species (ROS) such as hydroxyl radicals ( · OH), hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ), and superoxide radical anions (O 2 Ϫ˙) . The adverse effects of oxidative stress have been demonstrated in several groups of diseases, including cardiovascular disease and heart disease, 1,2) liver injury, 3) acute and chronic renal damage, 4) and cancer. 5) These negative effects are mainly caused by the formation of free radicals and mediated by free radical damage to lipids, proteins, and DNA. 6) Many reports have shown that natural products and their derivatives can protect against ROS-induced damage. Accordingly, they may have potential applications in preventing and/or curing diseases. 7,8) In recent years, traditional Chinese herbs have been found to possess excellent antioxidant activities [9][10][11][12][13][14] ; the phenolic and flavonoid components, in particular, have been identified as excellent antioxidants that have proven to be effective in scavenging free radicals. [15][16][17] Therefore, the use of herbs to inhibit oxidative stress and decrease damage from free radicals has garnered much attention.More than 2000 herbs have been recorded in the Compendium of Materia Medica, one of the most famous ancient Chinese herb books, and most of these traditional Chinese herbs were applied in the form of multi-herb formulas in medical treatments and as dietary supplements. However, the application of herbal prescriptions today is mainly based on a doctor's experience and not on pharmacological mechanisms.18) Traditional Chinese herb pairs (TCHPs), which are the basic unit in traditional Chinese prescriptions and an intermediate point between single herbs and multi-herb recipes, 19) consist of two relatively standard single herbs. Many herb pairs were recorded in the Treatise on Febrile and Miscellaneous Diseases and in the Synopsis of the Golden Chamber. According to Chinese records and the classic books about herbs in China, many TCHPs showed significantly better pharmacological efficacy than when the herbs were used individually. [20][21][22][23] For instance, the complete Qizhu Tang formula (composed of four herbs) was more effective in preventing cerebral oxidative injury in rats than any of the incomplete formulas or single herbs. 24) A TCHP, Astragalus membranaceus and Paeonia lactiflora (AME-PL), inhibited liver fibrosis in rats treated with carbon tetrachloride, and exhibited an increased hepato-protective capability relative to either of the herbs used individually. 20) However, the mechanisms by which the formulae and TCHPs achieve this synergism have not been elucidated, and changes to the combinations have rarely been studied. In order to investigate the mechanism of this synergy, six herbs were tested, including Radix Astragali (Astragalus membranaceus (AME)), Radix Paeoniae Alba (Paeonia lactiflora (PL)), Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae (Atractylodes macrocephala (AMA)), Radix Angelicae Sinensis (Angelica sinensis (AS)), Radix Glycyrrhizae (Glycyrrhiza...

Potential nephroprotective effects of the Chinese herbAngelica sinensisagainst cisplatin tubulotoxicity

“…Previous studies have reported a moderate antioxidant activity for an ethanolic extract of A. sinensis (Yang et al, 2009), as well as for its polysaccharides. The polysaccharides can be extracted with water and have been shown to have a hepatoprotective activity mediated by oxidative stress reduction (Yu et al, 2013).…”

An efficient methodology for quantification of synergy and antagonism in single electron transfer antioxidant assays

“…From previous research (Bruun-Jensena and Skovgaardb 1994;Peyrat-Maillard, Cuvelier, and Berset 2003;Yang et al 2009), when more than one antioxidant is present in a controlled chemical environment (HAT or SET), the final antioxidant capacity (AC) found is higher or lower than expected in many cases. However, in these fields of study, the concepts of synergy and antagonism are often characterized by simplistic relationships between the individual effects and very basic experimental procedures (Jia et al 1998;Marinova, Toneva, and Yanishlieva 2008;Yang et al 2009), rather than generalizing the classical approaches from the risk assessment in the toxicological area (Berenbaum 1985a(Berenbaum , 1985bBliss 1937Bliss , 1939Greco, Bravo, and Parsons 1995;Loewe and Muischnek 1926). In addition, graphical approaches that avoid the application of response surface models are poorly suited to discern the joint effect of binary mixtures of antioxidants.…”

“…The synergistic and antagonistic interactions of two (or more) antioxidants, despite their importance, are only studied from simplistic views (Jia et al 1998;Marinova et al 2008;Yang et al 2009), rather than generalizing the classical approaches (Berenbaum 1985a(Berenbaum , 1985bBliss 1937Bliss , 1939Greco et al 1995;Loewe and Muischnek 1926). The characterization of the combined action of chemicals of interest involves the challenge of how to define the null, antagonistic or synergistic action.…”

“…Despite the effort of researchers (Jia et al 1998;Marinova, Toneva, and Yanishlieva 2008;Yang et al 2009) to describe the synergistic/antagonistic effects in SET assays, the lack of theoretical standpoints provided by classical approaches from other field of studies, may have prevented researchers to find more conclusive solutions. This paper illustrates a methodological procedure for SET antioxidant assays to determine the synergistic and antagonistic effects of combining binary mixtures of antioxidants.…”

An in vitro study of concentration specific antioxidant activity of commonly using herbs.

“…Diabetes mellitus (DM) has been known to be linked with increased oxidative injury (Yang et al, 2009;Szentmihalyi et al, 2010). Conversely, the excessively generated free radicals results numerous pathological complications including DM (Ganga et al, 2015).…”