A characteristic pharmacological action of 'Yang-invigorating' Chinese tonifying herbs: Enhancement of myocardial ATP-generation capacity

In order to investigate the pharmacological basis of `Yang-invigorating' action, the effect of oral treatment with the methanolic extract of `Yang-invigorating' herbs on ATP-generation capacity was examined, using heart homogenates prepared from herb-pretreated mice. Tonifying (i.e., health-promoting) herbs of other functional categories were also included for comparison. The results indicated that `Yang-invigorating' Chinese tonifying herbs could invariably enhance myocardial ATP-generation capacity, with the extent of stimulation varying among the herbs. In contrast, `Yin-nourishing' herbs either did not stimulate or even decreased myocardial ATP-generation capacity. While `Qi-invigorating' herbs produced variable effects on myocardial ATP-generation capacity, most of the `blood-enriching' herbs did not cause any significant changes. The results obtained from studies using myocardial mitochondrial fractions isolated from herb-pretreated mice suggest that `Yang-invigorating' herbs might speed up ATP generation by increasing mitochondrial electron transport. The ensemble of results has provided evidence for the first time to support the pharmacological basis of `Yang invigoration' in Chinese medicine. (c) 2006 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.