Traditional Uyghur medicine (TUM; 維吾爾醫藥) has been used for thousands of years by Uyghur people lived in a northwest province of China, Xinjiang. Because of lacking scientific research, TUM is relatively obscure to the world nowadays. Here, a TUM called Badiranji Buya Keli (BBK, 巴迪然吉布亞顆粒) was chosen to investigate its biological efficacy, which was aiming to contribute part of scientific analysis of TUM. BBK composed of a single herb called D̲racocephali M̲oldavicae H̲erba (DMH; 香靑蘭; the aerial part of Dracocephalum moldavica L), which is the simplest TUM today. This herbal decoction could be found in many ancient books, but the first description of BBK was recorded by Emamdurdin Qashgheri in 《Sherhi Al-qanun》 in Karaxan Dynasty (AD, 870-1213) of Xinjiang region, and indeed this prescrip...[ Read more ]

Traditional Uyghur medicine (TUM; 維吾爾醫藥) has been used for thousands of years by Uyghur people lived in a northwest province of China, Xinjiang. Because of lacking scientific research, TUM is relatively obscure to the world nowadays. Here, a TUM called Badiranji Buya Keli (BBK, 巴迪然吉布亞顆粒) was chosen to investigate its biological efficacy, which was aiming to contribute part of scientific analysis of TUM. BBK composed of a single herb called D̲racocephali M̲oldavicae H̲erba (DMH; 香靑蘭; the aerial part of Dracocephalum moldavica L), which is the simplest TUM today. This herbal decoction could be found in many ancient books, but the first description of BBK was recorded by Emamdurdin Qashgheri in 《Sherhi Al-qanun》 in Karaxan Dynasty (AD, 870-1213) of Xinjiang region, and indeed this prescription was being used clinically for hundreds of years.

Based on TUM theory, BBK cleans the abnormal “black bile” in body, and simultaneously nourish the brain and heart. In Xinjiang, BBK is being widely used in treating heart diseases (coronary heart disease and myocardial ischemia) and neurological disorders (insomnia and neurasthenia). However, the quality control of BBK and specific bio-functions of this TUM have never been revealed. Here, we aimed to setup the chemical criteria in preparing BBK, as well as to reveal the biological functions and its corresponding action mechanisms.

Quality control parameters of BBK were established by the microscopic identification of DMH. The authentic DMH was used in preparing BBK. Afterward, the phytochemical profile of BBK was developed the by chromatographic fingerprinting and the measurement of chemical ingredients (e.g. rosmarinic acid and tilianin). A standardized BBK should contain no less than 14.56 mg rosmarinic acid and 3.79 mg tilianin in per g of dried powder of BBK. Thus, that standardized methods have been established to assess the quality of BBK, which allowed the usage of a well-controlled BBK for subsequent biological assays.

For the biological effects of BBK in cardiovascular system, especially in coronary heart disease and myocardial ischemia caused by atherosclerosis, several biological assays were employed, which included anti-platelet aggregation and stimulation of vasodilation in coronary artery. The results showed that BBK inhibited the ADP-induced platelet aggregation in platelet-rich plasma isolated from rabbit blood. BBK induced the vasodilation in rat artery, which was partially mediated by the enhancement of nitric oxide (NO; a bio-marker for vasodilation) production in endothelial cells. To determine the NO production, an endothelial cell,HUVEC was used as our study model. BBK stimulated the NO production: this effect was via the eNOS signaling pathway. For the neurological beneficial effect, the role of BBK in neurofilament expression and oxidative stress were determined. The treatment of BBK in PC12 cells increased the expression of three kinds of neurofilaments (NFs), NF68, NF160 and NF200. On the other hand, BBK protected the cultured PC12 cells against tBHP-induced oxidative stress by reducing the ROS formation.

Taken together, the current results suggested that BBK could exert several biological activities: (i) BBK inhibited platelet aggregation and induced NO production in cultured endothelial cells; (ii) BBK possessed anti-oxidation effect and induced neurofilament expression in cultured neuronal cells. These results might provide parts of molecular explanation to account for its traditional usage.