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Review
. 2021 Mar 13:2021:8868941.
doi: 10.1155/2021/8868941. eCollection 2021.

Classical Active Ingredients and Extracts of Chinese Herbal Medicines: Pharmacokinetics, Pharmacodynamics, and Molecular Mechanisms for Ischemic Stroke

Ting Zhu  1   2   3 , Lei Wang  1   2   3   4 , Yicheng Feng  1   2   3   5 , Guibo Sun  1   2   3 , Xiaobo Sun  1   2   3
Affiliations
Review

Classical Active Ingredients and Extracts of Chinese Herbal Medicines: Pharmacokinetics, Pharmacodynamics, and Molecular Mechanisms for Ischemic Stroke

Ting Zhu et al. Oxid Med Cell Longev. .

Abstract

Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide, and approximately 87% of cases are attributed to ischemia. The main factors that cause ischemic stroke include excitotoxicity, energy metabolism disorder, Ca+ overload, oxidative damage, apoptosis, autophagy, and inflammation. However, no effective drug is currently available for the comprehensive treatment of ischemic stroke in clinical applications; thus, there is an urgent need to find and develop comprehensive and effective drugs to treat postischemic stroke. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has unique advantages in treating ischemic stroke, with overall regulatory effects at multiple levels and on multiple targets. Many researchers have studied the effective components of TCMs and have achieved undeniable results. This paper reviews studies on the anticerebral ischemia effects of TCM monomers such as tetramethylpyrazine (TMP), dl-3-n-butylphthalide (NBP), ginsenoside Rg1 (Rg1), tanshinone IIA (TSA), gastrodin (Gas), and baicalin (BA) as well as effective extracts such as Ginkgo biloba extract (EGB). Research on the anticerebral ischemia effects of TCMs has focused mostly on their antioxidative stress, antiapoptotic, anti-inflammatory, proangiogenic, and proneurogenic effects. However, the research on the use of TCM to treat ischemic stroke remains incompletely characterized. Thus, we summarized and considered this topic from the perspective of pharmacokinetics, pharmacological effects, and mechanistic research, and we have provided a reference basis for future research and development on anticerebral ischemia TCM drugs.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Chemical structural formula of TMP.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Chemical structural formula of NBP.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Chemical structural formula of Rg1.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Metabolites of Rg1 in the intestine. The black arrows indicate the metabolic route in the rat intestine, while the red arrows indicate the metabolic route in the human intestine.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Chemical structural formula of TSA.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Chemical structural formula of Gas.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Chemical structural formula of BA.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Chemical structural formula for the representative components of ginkgo biloba extract.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Summary and functional network target analysis of eight types of TCMs that exerts significant anticerebral ischemia effects after ischemic stroke via multiple links across regulatory mechanisms and multitarget effects.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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