The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of emodin, the major component of Rheum palmatum, on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) expression in cultured mouse tubular epithelial cells (TECs). The TECs were obtained from mice and incubated with LPS and/or indicated concentrations of emodin for 24 h. Cytokeratin,...

Potato late blight (PLB) caused by Phytophthora infestans (Pi) is the most harmful disease in potato production worldwide. In organic farming, copper is used despite its persistence in soil and toxicity to soil organisms. To replace copper, suspensions of powders from three promising botanicals, including bark of buckthorn (Frangula alnus, FA), roots of medicinal rhubarb (Rheum palmatum) and ga...

The Pap test diagnosed cervical dysplasia, which could recover to normal or progress to cervical cancer (CC), is an early stage of cell abnormality before CC. This case-control study analyzed the differences in the risk to develop CC between Chinese medicine (CM) users and nonusers among women who had ever been diagnosed as having cervical dysplasia. A total of 750 CC patients with a cervical d...

BACKGROUND We recently developed high-throughput assays of inflammation-independent anti-fibrotic activities based on TGF-beta1-induced total collagen accumulation and nodule formation in normal rat kidney fibroblasts. METHODS These assays were applied to examine the anti-fibrotic activities of 21 compounds isolated from plants used in Chinese medicine and methanol extracts of 12 Chinese herb...

Rhein is a major medicinal ingredient isolated from several traditional Chinese medicines, including Rheum palmatum L., Aloe barbadensis Miller, Cassia angustifolia Vahl., and Polygonum multiflorum Thunb. Rhein has various pharmacological activities, such as anti-inflammatory, antitumor, antioxidant, antifibrosis, hepatoprotective, and nephroprotective activities. Although more than 100 article...

The rhizome of Rheum palmatum (RP) is a commonly used herb in clinical Chinese medicine. Phenytoin (PHT) is an antiepileptic with narrow therapeutic window. This study investigated the acute and chronic effects of RP on the pharmacokinetics of PHT in rat. Rats were orally administered with PHT (200 mg/kg) with and without RP decoction (single dose and seven doses of 2 g/kg) in a crossover desig...

1 Emodin (1,3,8-trihydroxy-6-methylanthraquinone) is an active component from the root and rhizome of Rheum palmatum that has been reported to exhibit antitumour e€ects, but the mechanism is not known. The study investigated the e€ects and mechanisms of emodin-induced cell death in human lung squamous carcinoma cell line CH27. 2 Emodin (50 mM)-induced CH27 cell apoptosis was con®rmed by cell mo...

Development of multidrug resistance (MDR) is a continuous clinical challenge partially due to the overexpression of P-glycoprotein (P-gp) for chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) patients. Herein, we evaluated the inhibitory potency of emodin, a natural anthraquinone derivative isolated from Rheum palmatum L, on P-gp in P-gp positive K562/ADM cells. Competition experiments combined with molecular...

K-601 is an herbal formulation for influenza consisting of Lonicera japonica, Isatis indigotica, Rheum palmatum, Phellodendron chinense, and Scutellaria baicalensis. In this work, we characterized the chemical constituents in K-601, identified the absorbed compounds and determined their pharmacokinetics in 6 Chinese and African volunteers by liquid chromatography with time-of-flight mass spectr...

BACKGROUND EMODIN (1,3,8-trihydroxy-6-methylanthraquinone) is a Chinese herbal anthraquinone derivative from the rhizome of rhubarb (Rheum palmatum L.) that exhibits numerous biological activities, such as antitumor, antibacterial, antiinflammatory, and immunosuppressive. In the present studies, the anti-allergic activities of emodin were investigated to elucidate the underlying active mechanis...