Tanshinone IIA, one of the main active components from the Chinese herb Danshen, is widely used to treat cardiovascular diseases in Asian countries, especially in China. To further elucidate its heart rate-reducing and anti-ischemic mechanisms, here we investigated the effects of tanshinone IIA on hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-modulated (HCN) channels expressed in Xenopus oocyte...

Glutamate excitotoxicity is associated with many neurological diseases, including cerebral ischemia and neurodegenerative diseases. Tanshinone IIA, a diterpenoid naphthoquinone from Salvia miltiorrhiza, has been shown to suppress presynaptic glutamate release, but its protective mechanism against glutamate-induced neurotoxicity is lacking. Using SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cells, we show here t...

This study evaluates the proliferative effects of danshen and its monomer extract, tanshinone IIA, on Schwann cell proliferation. A piece of silicone rubber was guided across a 15-mm gap in the sciatic nerve of a rat. This nerve gap was then filled with different concentrations of danshen (0-100 mg/mL). The results showed that danshen increased the expressions of uPA, cyclin D1, E and ERK, JNK,...

Tanshinone IIA (C19H18O3) was extracted from danshen (Salviae miltiorrhizae radix). It has cytotoxic properties and induces apoptosis in many human cancer cells. The molecular mechanisms are poorly understood, therefore, in the present study, we aimed to elucidate its anticancer activity on human breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells. The cytotoxic effects of tanshinone IIA on MDA-MB-231 cells were me...

Tanshinone IIA has definite protective effects on various cardiovascular diseases. However, in hypertension-induced left ventricular hypertrophy (H-LVH), the signaling pathways of tanshinone IIA in inhibition of remodeling and cardiac dysfunction remain unclear. Two-kidney, one-clip induced hypertensive rats (n = 32) were randomized to receive tanshinone IIA (5, 10, 15 mg/kg per day) or 5% gluc...

The root of Salvia miltiorrhiza (Tan shen) has been used as a traditional drug for circulatory disorders including ischemic diseases such as angina pectoris. Effective components protecting the myocardium against ischemia-induced metabolic disturbances; tanshinone IIA, tanshinone I, tanshinone V, tanshinone VI, and dihydrotanshinone were isolated. Among them, we found tanshinone VI as the most ...

This study describes a simple, easy and inexpensive method for extracting tanshinone IIA and cryptotanshinone from Salvia miltiorrhiza by sonication or decoction. A comparison of sonication and decoction showed a similar yield for cryptotanshinone, while the tanshinone IIA yield was slightly higher using sonication. An analytical method for detecting tanshinone IIA and cryptotanshinone in extra...

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) has become the leading cause of end stage renal failure, and prevention or retardation of DN has become a major goal in biomedical research. In this study, Tanshinone IIA, a component extracted from Salvia miltiorrhiza, was studied in experimental rats in which DN was induced by streptozotocin (STZ) treatment. The DN rats were treated with 10 mg/kg of Tanshinone IIA fo...