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eCAM Advance Access published online on September 27, 2008
eCAM, doi:10.1093/ecam/nen060
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© 2008 The Author(s).
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/uk/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

A Chinese Herbal Preparation Containing Radix Salviae Miltiorrhizae, Radix Notoginseng and Borneolum Syntheticum Reduces Circulating Adhesion Molecules

Kylie A. O’Brien1, Shanhong Ling1, Estelle Abbas1, Aozhi Dai1, Jiansheng Zhang2, Wen Cheng Wang3, Alan Bensoussan4, Ruizhi Luo5, Zhi-Xin Guo5 and Paul A. Komesaroff1

1Monash University Department of Medicine, Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, 2Division of Chinese Medicine, School of Health Sciences, RMIT University, Melbourne, 3Registered Chinese medicine practitioner in private practice, Prahran, Victoria, 4National Institute of Complementary Medicine, University of Western Sydney, Sydney and 5Institute of Research and Development, Tianjin Tasly Pharmaceutical Corporation, Tianjin, China

Circulating adhesion molecules (CAMs), surface proteins expressed in the vascular endothelium, have emerged as risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD). CAMs are involved in intercellular communication that are believed to play a role in atherosclerosis. A Chinese medicine, the ‘Dantonic Pill’ (DP) (also known as the ‘Cardiotonic Pill’), containing three Chinese herbal material medica, Radix Salviae Miltiorrhizae, Radix Notoginseng and Borneolum Syntheticum, has been used in China for the prevention and management of CVD. Previous laboratory and animal studies have suggested that this preparation reduces both atherogenesis and adhesion molecule expression. A parallel double blind randomized placebo-controlled study was conducted to assess the effects of the DP on three species of CAM [intercellular cell adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 and endothelial cell selectin (E-selectin)] in participants with mild–moderate hypercholesterolemia. Secondary endpoints included biochemical and hematological variables and clinical effects. Forty participants were randomized to either treatment or control for 12 weeks. Treatment with DP was associated with a statistically significant decrease in ICAM-1 (9% decrease, P = 0.03) and E-Selectin (15% decrease, P = 0.004). There was no significant change in renal function tests, liver function tests, glucose, lipids or C-reactive protein levels and clinical adverse effects did not differ between the active and the control groups. There were no relevant changes in participants receiving placebo. These results suggest that this herbal medicine may contribute to the development of a novel approach to cardiovascular risk reduction.

Keywords: Chinese herbal medicine – circulating adhesion molecules – Radix Salviae Miltiorrhizae

For reprints and all correspondence: Dr Kylie O’Brien, Faculty of Health, Engineering & Science, Victoria University, PO Box 14428, Melbourne, Victoria 8001, Australia. Tel: +61 3 9919 2792; Fax: +61 3 9919 2610; E-mail: kylie.obrien{at}vu.edu.au

Received December 13, 2007; accepted August 21, 2008


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