Herbs with Antidepressant Effects
Scott Mendelson in Herbal Treatment of Major Depression, 2019
Epimedium brevicornum, often referred to as horny goat weed, is an important medicinal plant that has been used in Western herbalism and in various traditional Chinese formulations for thousands of years. Hundreds of phytochemicals, mostly flavonoids, have been identified in the genus Epimedium, with icariin being the most abundant. Icariin is pharmacologically active and has been used to strengthen bones, nervous system, and cardiovascular function. It is thought to possess anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, and immunoprotective effects. Epimedium brevicornum is particularly well known in regards to its alleged ability to restore libido and sexual performance, hence the reference, horny goat weed.1
Icariin inhibits the expression of IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α induced by OGD/R through the IRE1/XBP1s pathway in microglia
Published in Pharmaceutical Biology, 2021
Zhen-Tao Mo, Jie Zheng, Yu-ling Liao
Epimedium brevicornum Maxim (Berberidaceae) is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine. Several clinical case reports have also shown that Epimedium-containing prescriptions can significantly improve the ability of daily living of stroke patients in recovery period, and reduce the degree of neurological deficits (Deng 2008; Wen and Zeng 2017). Pharmacological studies support its clinical application with the results of the neuroprotective effects of icariin (ICA) on cerebral ischaemic injury (Zhu et al. 2010; Liu et al. 2018). ICA is one of the major effective flavonoid glycosides extracted from the leaves and stems of Epimedium. A previous work of our laboratory showed that ICA could reduce brain oedema, cerebral infarction area and levels of inflammatory mediators including IL-1β and TGF-β1 in I/R rats (Xiong et al. 2016). ICA could also reduce the secretion of heat shock protein and inflammatory cytokines such as IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α in oxygen-glucose deprived cells in vitro (Mo et al. 2015, 2017). The results of these experiments confirmed that ICA can inhibit inflammation in vivo and in vitro. However, how ICA regulates this process remains unclear. In this study, we investigate the effect of ICA on the NLRP3/caspase-1/IL-1β inflammatory signal axis mediated by IRE1α-XBP1 signalling pathway in vitro.
Effects of icariin on the fracture healing in young and old rats and its mechanism
Published in Pharmaceutical Biology, 2021
Xiaoyun Zhang, Yueping Chen, Chi Zhang, Xuan Zhang, Tian Xia, Jie Han, Shilei Song, Canhong Xu, Feng Chen
Epimedium brevicornu Maxim. (Berberidaceae) (Epimedium) has been used in Chinese ethnopharmacology for the treatment of metabolic bone diseases. Icariin is a flavonoid and the active compound in Epimedium, which has been used to cure different diseases, including bone fractures, osteoporosis and tumours (Iqbal et al. 2018; Wang et al. 2018). In osteoporosis and osteoporotic fractures with different causes, oral medication of icariin can promote bone formation by inhibiting bone resorption and improve peak bone mineral density and bone quality (Cheng et al. 2014). Wu et al. (2018) found that icariin promoted bone formation, inhibited bone loss and effectively restored bone structure and strength in chronic high-dose alcohol-induced osteopenic rats. In vitro, icariin promoted the proliferation of rat BMSCs by activating the ERK and p38 MAPK signalling pathways (Qin et al. 2015). Despite the increase in the clinical usage of the Epimedium plant genus, the mechanisms underlying its therapeutic effects of the pharmacologically active constituent (icariin) on fracture healing are still not clearly understood.
Erxian decoction, a famous Chinese medicine formula, antagonizes corticosterone-induced injury in PC12 cells, and improves depression-like behaviours in mice
Published in Pharmaceutical Biology, 2020
Lan Zhang, Yue Yang, Lei Di, Jun-long Li, Ning Li
Erxian decoction is a well-known Chinese medicine formula that was developed by Zhang Bo-Na in the early 1950s (Li et al. 2007). The formula consists of six Chinese medicinal herbs, namely rhizome Curculigo orchioides Gaertn. (Hypoxidaceae), Herba Epimedium brevicornu Maxim. (Berberidaceae), radix Morinda officinalis F. C. How (Rubiaceae), radix Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels (Apiaceae), cortex Phellodendron chinense C. K. Schneid. (Rutaceae) and rhizome Anemarrhena asphodeloides Bunge (Anthericaceae) (Wang et al. 2015). EXD was created to remedy the syndromes of Shen-yang and Shen-yin deficiency (where ‘shen’ means kidney in Chinese) and harmonise the ‘yin-yang’ balance. In the EXD formula, C. orchioides, E. brevicornu and M. officinalis invigorate Shen-yang, while A. asphodeloides benefits Shen-yin (Li et al. 2007). EXD was originally designed for the treatment of menopausal hypertension in female patients (Zhang 1958). However, after 60 years of clinical practice and experimental research, the scope of EXD in clinical application was extended to many chronic diseases (Li et al. 2007).