Ingredients in Herbal IV Treatment Fight Blood Infection

Jim Crocker
25th January, 2024

Image Source: Natural Science News, 2024

Sepsis is a dangerous condition where the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. Finding effective treatments has been challenging. In China, a herbal intravenous medicine called XueBiJing, used along with standard treatment methods, has been shown to lower the risk of dying within 28 days for severely ill patients. Researchers set out to pinpoint the specific ingredients in XueBiJing responsible for fighting sepsis. To understand how XueBiJing works, a study was conducted on rats. A severe sepsis condition was created in the rats through a surgical procedure known as cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). The rats were then given a dose of XueBiJing directly into their bloodstream. By examining how the rats' bodies responded to XueBiJing, researchers were able to identify which components of the medicine were most effective in combating sepsis. They found 12 substances within XueBiJing that were present at significant levels in the bloodstream of these rats. Six of these substances, including hydroxysafflor yellow A, paeoniflorin, oxypaeoniflorin, albiflorin, senkyunolide I, and tanshinol, demonstrated a strong ability to fight sepsis. They did this by helping to control the immune response, reduce excessive inflammation, manage blood clotting processes, and enhance the function of organs. The study then explored what would happen if they used these six active ingredients in combination, in the same doses as they are found in XueBiJing. They saw that this mixture had a similar success rate in aiding survival and achieving the desirable levels in the bloodstream as XueBiJing itself. Additionally, it was found that these six components worked well together, without negatively affecting each other's action, and the presence of other substances in XueBiJing did not interfere with their activity. This suggests that these six ingredients could essentially stand in for the full medicine. The discovery of the active and impactful components within XueBiJing supports its use against sepsis and also provides valuable insights. It demonstrates the potential of using multiple drugs in combination, a concept referred to as polypharmacology, as an effective way to develop medicines to better manage sepsis.

Herbs Medicine Biochem

References

Main Study

1) Pharmacologically significant constituents collectively responsible for anti-sepsis action of XueBiJing, a Chinese herb-based intravenous formulation.

Published 24th January, 2024

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41401-023-01224-1

References

Main Study

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