Calycosin, an isoflavonoid phytoestrogen, isolated from Radix Astragali, was reported to possess anti-tumor, anti-inflammation, and osteogenic properties, but its impact on osteoclast differentiation remains unclear. In this study, we examined the effects of calycosin on osteoclastogenesis induced by RANKL. The results showed that calycosin significantly inhibited RANKL-induced osteoclast forma...

Leukotriene B4 12-hydroxydehydrogenase (LTB4DH) catalyzes the oxidation of proinflammatory LTB4 into less bioactive 12-oxo-LTB4. We recently discovered that LTB4DH was induced by two different natural products in combination. We previously isolated gallic acid from Radix Paeoniae through a bioactivity-guided fractionation procedure. The purpose of this study is to test the hypothesis that LTB4D...

In this study, we investigated the potential anticancer effects of calycosin against human glioblastoma cells, including the impacts on cell proliferation, apoptosis, and cell cycle distribution. We further studied its inhibitory activity on migration and invasion in U87 and U251 cells. Furthermore, transforming growth factor beta-mediated reductions of mesenchymal-associated genes/activators, ...

BACKGROUND Dysfunction of vascular endothelium is implicated in many pathological situations. Cytoskeleton plays an importance role in vascular endothelial permeability barrier and inflammatory response. Many Chinese herbs have the endothelial protective effect, of which, "Astragalus membranaceus" is a highly valued herb for treatment of cardiovascular and renal diseases in traditional Chinese ...

BACKGROUND Angiogenesis plays an important role in a wide range of physiological processes, and many diseases are associated with the dysregulation of angiogenesis. Radix Astragali is a Chinese medicinal herb commonly used for treating cardiovascular disorders and has been shown to possess angiogenic effect in previous studies but its active constituent and underlying mechanism remain unclear. ...

Presystemic interactions with gut microbiota might play important roles in the holistic action of herbal medicines in their traditional oral applications. However, research interests usually focus on biologic activities of the in vivo available herb-derived components and their exposure in circulation. In this study, we illustrated the importance of studying the presystemic interplay with gut m...

Presystemic interactions with gut microbiota might play important roles in the holistic action of herbal medicines in their traditional oral applications. However, research interests usually focus on biologic activities of the in vivo available herb-derived components and their exposure in circulation. In this study, we illustrated the importance of studying the presystemic interplay with gut m...

BACKGROUND Calycosin and genistein are the two main components of isoflavones. Previously, we reported that these compounds display antitumor activities in the breast cancer cell lines MCF-7 and T47D. In the present study, we investigated the mechanism of action of calycosin and genistein, and their respective efficacies as potential therapies for the treatment of breast carcinoma in the clinic...

We previously reported that calycosin, a natural phytoestrogen structurally similar to estrogen, successfully triggered apoptosis of estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer cell line, MCF-7. To better understand the antitumor activities of calycosin against breast cancer, besides MCF-7 cells, another ER-positive cell line T-47D was analyzed here, with ER-negative cell lines (MDA-231, MDA-...

Flavonoids are found in most parts of plants and have been shown to have multiple biological activities such as anticancer, anti-inflammation, antibacteria, antivirus, and immune-stimulation. Existing data showed that the total flavonoids of Astragalus (TFA) can provide biological system with resistance to injury and can possess antimutagenic, atherosclerotic inhibition, and other biological ef...