Hachimijiogan (Ba-Wei-Di-Huang-Wan), a herbal medicine, improves unbalance of calcium metabolism in aged rats.

J Ethnopharmacol. 2009 Apr 28; Ikeda R, Mizoguchi KAged animals as well as elderly humans commonly exhibit calcium (Ca) shortage because of increased Ca excretion into urine and decreased intestinal Ca absorption, which induce elevation of serum PTH levels to maintain serum Ca levels between a normal physiological range. The most important organ that regulates this Ca homeostasis is the kidney. Hachimijiogan (HJG), a traditional herbal medicine in Japan and China, has been used for treating clinical diseases associated with kidney dysfunctions in elderly humans. However, the mechanisms of its pharmacological actions remain to be understood poorly. The present study was designed to examine whether HJG improves age-related unbalance of Ca metabolism at the systemic level using aged rats. For this purpose, this drug was administered to 21-month-old aged rats for 3 months, and several parameters associated with Ca metabolism in serum and urine were measured. Although HJG as well as aging itself did not affect serum Ca levels compared to young (11-week-old) rats, HJG improved increase in urinary Ca excretion and elevation of serum parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels in aged rats. However, HJG did not improve marked reduction of intestinal Ca absorption in aged rats. Thus, HJG showed regulating action for age-related unbalance of Ca metabolism at the systemic level. This finding would provide useful information for treating age-related several disorders associated with Ca unbalance.

Effects of Ginkgo biloba Extract Ingestion on the Pharmacokinetics of Talinolol in Healthy Chinese Volunteers (May).

Ann Pharmacother. 2009 Apr 28; Fan L, Tao GY, Wang G, Chen Y, Zhang W, He YJ, Li Q, Lei HP, Jiang F, Hu DL, Huang YF, Zhou HHBACKGROUND: Ginkgo biloba extract (GBE), the best selling herbal medicine in the world, has been reported to inhibit P-glycoprotein in vitro. However, the effects of GBE on P-glycoprotein activity in humans have not been clarified. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of single and repeated GBE ingestion on the oral pharmacokinetics of talinolol, a substrate drug for P-glycoprotein in humans. METHODS: Ten unrelated healthy male volunteers were selected to participate in a 3-stage sequential study. Plasma concentrations of talinolol from 0 to 24 hours were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography after talinolol 100 mg was administrated alone, with a single oral dose of GBE (120 mg), and after 14 days of repeated GBE ingestion (360 mg/day). RESULTS: A single oral dose of GBE did not affect the pharmacokinetics of talinolol. Repeated ingestion of GBE increased the talinolol maximum plasma concentration (Cmax) by 36% (90% CI 10 to 68; p = 0.025), the area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) 0-24 by 26% (90% CI 11 to 43; p = 0.008) and AUC0-infinity by 22% (90% CI 8 to 37; p = 0.014), respectively, without significant changes in elimination half-life and the time to Cmax. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that long-term use of GBE significantly influenced talinolol disposition in humans, likely by affecting the activity of P-glycoprotein and/or other drug transporters.

Daily consumption of Reliv Glucaffect for 8 weeks significantly lowered blood glucose and body weight in 50 subjects.

Phytother Res. 2009 Apr 29; Belcaro G, Cesarone M, Silvia E, Ledda A, Stuard S, G V, Dougall M, Cornelli U, Hastings C, Schönlau FA public change to healthier lifestyles with more physical activity and better nutrition, including caloric restriction, is required to address the obesity epidemic. Weight loss can be achieved by caloric restrictions; current research suggests that this may be achieved by consumption of slowly absorbed carbohydrates owing to the resulting prolonged satiety.Our rationale was to prolong the satiety of overweight volunteers by supplementation with a proprietary formulation Glucaffect which delays absorption of carbohydrates. Glucaffect provides potent alpha-glucosidase inhibitors of herbal source such Pycnogenol((R)), Madeglucyl and various others which obstruct absorption of carbohydrates, such as starch.Fifty overweight subjects received either Glucaffect or an inactive control product for eight weeks. Consumption of Glucaffect was found to statistically significantly lower blood-fasting glucose from baseline 145.3 mg/dL to 101.1 mg/dL (-30.4%) and Hba1c from 7.59% to 6.33% as compared to the control group where values decreased only marginally.The weight and the body mass index (BMI) decreased significantly from an average of 88.5 kg (BMI 26.8 kg/m(2)) to 81.3 kg (BMI 24.5 kg/m(2)) as compared to the control group.In conclusion, Glucaffect enabled subjects with metabolic syndrome to achieve healthy BMI and blood glucose levels. Glucaffect was well tolerated and no subject dropped out. Copyright (c) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Ultrasonic extraction and HPLC determination of anthraquinones, aloe-emodine, emodine, rheine, chrysophanol and physcione, in roots of Polygoni multiflori.

Phytochem Anal. 2009 Apr 29; Jiao Y, Zuo YINTRODUCTION: Polygoni multiflori, one of traditional Chinese herbal medicines for the treatment of various diseases commonly associated with aging, is known to contain active anthraquinone ingredients. However, the content of the anthraquinones varies among P. multiflori samples with collection season and sites. Thus, simple, reliable and accurate analytical methods for determining of anthraquinones in P. multiflori products are needed for the quality control and pharmacological studies. OBJECTIVE: To develop an HPLC method for the simultaneous determination of five anthraquinones, aloe-emodine, rheine, emodine, chrysophanol and physcione, in the roots of P. multiflori. METHODOLOGY: Anthraquinones were extracted from the roots of P. multiflori using aqueous alcohol solutions or hot water under ultrasonication. Separation and quantitation of anthraquinones was accomplished using a reversed-phase C(18) column with the mobile phase of methanol-water-phosphoric acid (600:400:1), and the detection wavelength of 254 nm. RESULTS: Seventy per cent aqueous ethanol showed the highest extraction efficiency for anthraquinones from roots of P. multiflori when compared with four other extraction solvents tested. All calibration curves were linear over the concentration range tested with the square of correlation coefficients >0.999. The detection limits (S/N = 3) were 0.89, 1.1, 1.6, 1.7 and 2.0 ng for chrysophanol, aloe-emodine, rheine, emodine and physcione, respectively. Emodine and physcione were found in the samples tested at concentrations of 0.341 and 0.197 mg/g, respectively. CONCLUSION: The described HPLC methods are simple, accurate and selective techniques for separation and quantification of anthraquinones in roots of P. multiflori and other plant samples. Copyright (c) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.