Study: Improving lipid metabolism with a Chinese herbal complex

Danqi pill is commonly used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) to treat coronary heart disease. In a study in BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, researchers identified salvianolic acids and Panax notoginseng saponins (DS) as the herb’s main components for improving metabolism in blocked arteries.

• Previous studies have indicated that the Danqi pill can regulate plasma levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL).
• Researchers used a rate model of coronary heart disease, which was induced by left anterior descending (LAD) artery ligation.
• Rats were assigned into sham group, model, Danqi pill treatment, DS treatment, and clofibrate treatment (positive drug).
• Energy metabolism was evaluated using a reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction.
• Both Danqi pill and DS treatments improved cardiac functions in an ischemic heart model. The two also up-regulated mRNA expression of lipoprotein lipase (LPL), an enzyme known to break down fat, as well as other expressions like FABP4 and CPT-1A.
• DS treatments, however, showed better results than the Danqi pill on PGC-1α, a regulator of energy metabolism and a coactivator of PPARs.

The findings suggest that the active ingredients in the Danqi pill are salvianolic acids and Panax notoginseng saponins, which can improve lipid metabolism in ischemic heart models.

Read the full study at this link.

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Journal Reference:

Wang Q, Li C, Zhang Q, Wang Y, Shi T, Lu L, Zhang Y, Wang Y, Wang W. THE EFFECT OF CHINESE HERBS AND ITS EFFECTIVE COMPONENTS ON CORONARY HEART DISEASE THROUGH PPARS-PGC1Α PATHWAY. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 12 December 2016;16. (514). DOI: 10.1186/s12906-016-1496-z