Lead poisoning from an Ayurvedic herbal medicine in a patient with chronic kidney disease.

Nat Rev Nephrol. 2009 May; 5(5): 297-300Prakash S, Hernandez GT, Dujaili I, Bhalla VBACKGROUND: A 60-year-old man with a history of diabetes and hypertension was referred to a nephrology clinic for investigation of his elevated serum creatinine level. INVESTIGATIONS: Physical examination; laboratory investigations, including measurement of whole-blood lead level, body lead burden and urine albumin:creatinine ratio; history of lead exposure and use of herbal medical products; and renal ultrasonography. DIAGNOSIS: Stage 3 chronic kidney disease that was probably worsened by consumption of lead in the form of an Ayurvedic herbal remedy. MANAGEMENT: Cessation of the herbal product, followed by lead-chelation therapy with calcium disodium ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid. The patient's whole-body lead burden and blood lead level decreased to acceptable levels and his serum creatinine value was within the normal range at final follow-up.

Inhibitory Effect of Glycoprotein Isolated from Cudrania tricuspidata Bureau on Expression of Inflammation-Related Cytokine in Bisphenol A-Treated HMC-1 Cells.

Inflammation. 2009 May 5; Shim JU, Lim KTCudrania tricuspidata is one of the most omnipresent traditional herbal drugs for anti-inflammation and anti-tumor. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether the CTB glycoprotein regulates the inflammatory reaction stimulated by bisphenol A (BPA) in human mast cells (HMC-1). Thus, we investigated that CTB glycoprotein inhibits the degranulation of histamine, expression of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), as a mitogen activated protein (MAP) kinase, nuclear transcription factors involving nuclear factor (NF)-kappaB and Activator protein (AP)-1, cyclooxygenase (COX)-2. The results indicated that CTB glycoprotein decreased gene expression of cytokines of IL-4, IFN-gamma, interleukin (IL)-1beta and cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 in BPA-stimulated HMC-1 cells. Hence, we speculate that CTB glycoprotein can use as a potent anti-inflammatory agent for inflammatory allergic diseases.

[Analysis of phytosterol contents in food plant materials and Chinese traditional medicines]

Wei Sheng Yan Jiu. 2009 Mar; 38(2): 188-91Han J, He M, Zhou S, Wang GOBJECTIVE: To analyze the phytosterol content in food plant materials and Chinese traditional herbal medicines commonly used in China. METHODS: 18 kinds of food plant materials and 32 kinds of Chinese traditional herbal medicines, which were commonly used in functional food, were chosen as samples. The contents of beta-sitosterol, campesterol, stigmasterol, beta-sitostanol were analyzed by GC methods and the percent of each ingredient were calculated. RESULTS: The contents of phytosterols in 18 kinds of food plant materials were from 14.8 mg/100 g to 208.3 mg/100 g, while the content of phytosterols in 32 Chinese traditional herbal medicines were from 9.4 mg/100 g to 280.3 mg/100 g. In most samples, beta-sitosterol is the largest part of total phytosterol. CONCLUSION: Phytosterols were existed in 50 kinds of food plant materials and Chinese traditional herbal medicines commonly used in functional food, maybe phytosterol is an important functional ingredient in some plant materials.

Safety and pharmacokinetic trial of docetaxel plus an Astragalus-based herbal formula for non-small cell lung cancer patients.

Cancer Chemother Pharmacol. 2009 May 7; Cassileth BR, Rizvi N, Deng G, Yeung KS, Vickers A, Guillen S, Woo D, Coleton M, Kris MGPURPOSE: To study a commonly used Astragalus-based herbal formula previously found effective in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) on the pharmacokinetics of docetaxel in patients with NSCLC. METHODS: Patients with advanced NSCLC who progressed after prior platinum-containing chemotherapy were accrued and received docetaxel at 35 mg/m(2) for 3 weeks followed by 1 week of rest. At 4 days prior to the second dosing, Jinfukang was given orally. Pharmacokinetic studies of initial-dose docetaxel (in the absence of Jinfukang) and the third dose (in the presence of Jinfukang) were compared. RESULTS: Of the 24 patients enrolled, 21 started Jinfukang and docetaxel. Jinfukang had no significant impact on the pharmacokinetics of docetaxel. Median time to progression or withdrawal from treatment was 7 weeks. Twelve patients were removed from study for progression of disease; nine patients withdrew. CONCLUSIONS: Jinfukang did not alter the pharmacokinetics of docetaxel nor appear to affect survival in this study.