Deciphering the Formulation Secret Underlying Chinese Huo-Clearing Herbal Drink

Jianan Wang; Bo Zhou; Xiangdong Hu; Shuang Dong; Ming Hong; Jun Wang; Jian Chen; Jiuliang Zhang; Qiyun Zhang; Xiaohua Li; Alexander N Shikov; Sheng Hu; Xuebo Hu

doi:10.3389/fphar.2021.654699

Deciphering the Formulation Secret Underlying Chinese Huo-Clearing Herbal Drink

Front Pharmacol. 2021 Apr 22:12:654699. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2021.654699. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Jianan Wang^{1

2

3}, Bo Zhou^{1

2

3}, Xiangdong Hu^{1

2

3}, Shuang Dong⁴, Ming Hong^{1

2

3}, Jun Wang⁴, Jian Chen⁴, Jiuliang Zhang⁵, Qiyun Zhang^{1

2

3}, Xiaohua Li^{1

2

3}, Alexander N Shikov⁶, Sheng Hu⁴, Xuebo Hu^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory of Drug Discovery and Molecular Engineering, Department of Medicinal Plants, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China.
² National and Local Joint Engineering Research Center (Hubei) for Medicinal Plant Breeding and Cultivation, Wuhan, China.
³ Hubei Provincial Engineering Research Center for Medicinal Plants, Wuhan, China.
⁴ Hubei Cancer Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
⁵ College of Food Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China.
⁶ Department of Technology of pharmaceutical formulations, Saint-Petersburg State Chemical Pharmaceutical University, Saint-Petersburg, Russia.

Abstract

Herbal teas or herbal drinks are traditional beverages that are prevalent in many cultures around the world. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, an herbal drink infused with different types of medicinal plants is believed to reduce the 'Shang Huo', or excessive body heat, a status of sub-optimal health. Although it is widely accepted and has a very large market, the underlying science for herbal drinks remains elusive. By studying a group of herbs for drinks, including 'Gan' (Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch. Ex DC.), 'Ju' (Dendranthema morifolium (Ramat.) Tzvelev), 'Bu' (Microcos paniculata L.), 'Jin' (Lonicera japonica Thunb.), 'Xia' (Prunella vulgaris L.), and 'Ji' (Plumeria rubra L.), the long-term jargon is connected with the inflammation of modern immunology through a few pro-inflammatory markers. In vitro studies have indicated that cellular inflammation is lowered by Ju and Jin either individually or synergistically with Gan. Among all herbs, only Gan detoxicated cellular toxicity of Bu in a dose dependent manner. The synergistic formulation of Ju and Gan, or Jin and Gan, in a reduction of Shang Huo, was tested in vivo. Both combinations exhibited a lower percentage of neutrophils, monocytes, and CD4⁺/CD8⁺ ratio in the blood, as well as inflammatory cytokines. Furthermore, body weight in the combinatory groups was more stable than treatments using single herbs. The combination of old traditional oriental methods with Western science logistics, has resulted in the formulation of different herbs into one concoction for the use of detoxification and synergism.

Keywords: ICAM-1; Shang Huo; herbal drink; herbal tea; inflammation; traditional Chinese medicine.