Search

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative joint disease primarily affecting the cartilage. The therapeutic potential of the Dipsacus asper-Achyranthes bidentate herb pair for OA has been acknowledged, yet its precise mechanism remains elusive. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of metabolomic changes and therapeutic outcomes in osteoarthritic rats, employing a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry-based metabolomics approach in conjunction with histopathological and biochemical assessments. The rats were divided into six groups: control, model, positive control, Dipsacus asper treated, Achyranthes bidentata treated, and herb pair treated groups. Compared to the model group, significant reductions in levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and iNOS were observed in the treated groups. Multivariate statistical analyses were employed to investigate metabolite profile changes in serum samples and identify potential biomarkers, revealing 45 differential biomarkers, with eighteen validated using standard substances. These analytes exhibited excellent linearity across a wide concentration range (R 2 >0.9990), with intra- and inter-day precision RSD values below 4.69% and 4.83%, respectively. Recoveries of the eighteen analytes ranged from 93.97% to 106.59%, with RSD values under 5.72%, underscoring the method's reliability. Treatment with the herbal pair effectively restored levels of unsaturated fatty acids such as linoleic acid and arachidonic acid, along with glucogenic amino acids. Additionally, levels of phosphoric acid and citric acid were reversed, indicating restoration of energy metabolism. Collectively, these findings highlight the utility of metabolomic analysis in evaluating therapeutic efficacy and elucidating the underlying molecular mechanisms of herb pairs in OA treatment., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper, (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

There are a large number of interactions at molecular and cellular levels between the plant polysaccharides and immune system. Plant polysaccharides present an interesting effects as immunomodulators, particularly in the induction of the cells both in innate and adaptive immune systems. Activation of DCs could improve antitumoral responses usually diminished in cancer patients, and natural adjuvants provide a possibility of inducing this activation. ABP is a purified polysaccharide isolated from Achyranthes bidentata, a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). The aim of this study is to investigate modulation of phenotypic and functional maturation of murine DCs by ABP. Both phenotypic and functional activities were assessed with use of conventional scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) for the morphology of the DC, transmitted electron microscopy (TEM) for intracellular lysosomes inside the DC, cellular immunohistochemistry for phagocytosis by the DCs, flow cytometry (FCM) for the changes in key surface molecules, bio-assay for the activity of acidic phosphatases (ACP), and ELISA for the production of pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-12. In fact, we found that purified ABP induced phenotypic maturation revealed by increased expression of CD86, CD40, and MHC II. Functional experiments showed the down-regulation of ACP inside DCs (which occurs when phagocytosis of DCs is decreased, and antigen presentation increased with maturation). Finally, ABP increased the production of IL-12. These data reveal that ABP promotes effective activation of murine DCs. This adjuvant-like activity may have therapeutic applications in clinical settings where immune responses need boosting. It is therefore concluded that ABP can exert positive modulation to murine DCs., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Achyranthes bidentata Blume is a commonly prescribed Chinese medicinal herb with a variety of pharmaceutical properties. From its aqueous extract we have separated important constituents, referred to as A. bidentata polypeptides (ABPP). In this study, the neuroprotective effect of ABPP against N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA)-induced cell apoptosis was investigated in cultured rat hippocampal neurons. The results of MTT assay, Hoechst/PI double staining and DNA ladder detection indicated that ABPP significantly attenuated, in a concentration-dependent manner, apoptotic cell damage induced by exposure of cultured hippocampal neurons to NMDA (100 μM) for 30 min. The intracellular calcium measurement with fluo-3/AM revealed that ABPP antagonized the excess intracellular calcium triggered by NMDA. Furthermore, in addition to inhibiting the action of NR2B-containing NMDA receptors, ABPP can enhance the function of NR2A-containing NMDA receptors. Our data might suggest that ABPP may also prove to be a potential neuroprotective therapy owing to its differential modulation of NR2A- and NR2B-containing NMDA receptors.

We report here the investigation on the effects of Achyranthes bidentata polysaccharides (ABPS) against Lewis lung cancer (LLC) in C57BL/6 mice. Depending on its doses administered in vivo, ABPS was shown to have inhibitory as well as stimulative effects on tumor growth in LLC-bearing C57BL/6 mice. ABPS at low dose could significantly inhibit LLC growth, while high dose treatment of ABPS stimulated, rather than inhibited, LLC growth in C57BL/6 mice. Tumor cell cycle analysis revealed that more tumor cells arrested at G2/M phase after daily low dose intraperitoneal injection of ABPS for consecutive 15 days. The spleen weight increased markedly in LLC-bearing C57BL/6 mice treated with high dose of ABPS. However, the spleen cytotoxicity activity was significantly despaired in mice of high dose treatment of ABPS. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the expressions of IL-6 mRNA and TNF-alpha mRNA were markedly up-regulated in spleens from mice treated with a high dose of ABPS by RT-PCR reactions, suggesting that the low dose of ABPS inhibits tumor growth via its effect on tumor cell cycle distribution, rather than activation of NK activity as previously suggested. We postulate that the stimulation of tumor growth by high dose of ABPS is associated with dysfunction of NK cell and up-regulation of IL-6 mRNA and TNF-alpha mRNA expression in murine spleen.

Achyranthes aspera, an Indian medicinal plant (family: Amaranthaceae) was incorporated in artificial fish diet, and fed to catla Catla catla. After 4 weeks of feeding, fish were immunized with bovine serum albumin (BSA), spleen and blood were sampled on weekly intervals for four times after immunization. Antigen-specific antibody level in serum was determined by ELISA. Antigen clearance was determined in spleen by immuno-electron microscopy. Achyranthes has significantly (P<0.05) enhanced the BSA-specific antibody titers than the untreated control group throughout the study period. The efficiency of antigen clearance was also enhanced in C. catla treated with Achyranthes.

In this study, the haemolytic activities of Achyranthes bidentata saponins (ABS) and its adjuvant potentials on the cellular and humoral immune responses of ICR mice against ovalbumin (OVA) were evaluated. We determined the haemolytic activity of ABS using 0.5% rabbit red blood cell. The concentration inducing 50% of the maximum haemolysis (HD50) for ABS was 164.59+/-13.41 microg/ml. ICR mice were immunized subcutaneously with OVA 100 microg alone or with OVA 100 microg dissolved in saline containing Alum (200 microg), QuilA (10 and 20 microg) or ABS (50, 100 or 200 microg) on Days 1 and 15. Two weeks later (Day 28), concanavalin A (Con A)-, lipopolysaccharide (LPS)- and OVA-stimulated splenocyte proliferation and OVA-specific antibodies in serum were measured. ABS significantly enhanced the Con A-, LPS-, and OVA-induced splenocyte proliferation in the OVA-immunized mice especially at a dose of 100 microg (P<0.05 or P<0.025). OVA-specific serum IgG, IgG1 and IgG2b antibody titers were also significantly enhanced by ABS compared with OVA control group (P<0.05 or P<0.025). The results suggest that ABS showed a slight haemolytic effect and enhanced significantly a specific antibody and cellular response against OVA in mice.