Radix Astragali and Radix Rehmanniae, the principal components of two antidiabetic foot ulcer herbal formulae, elicit viability-promoting effects on primary fibroblasts cultured from diabetic foot ulcer tissues

• Published in: Phytotherapy research Vol. 23; no. 6; pp. 809 - 815
• Main Authors: Lau, T.W, Chan, Y.W, Lau, C.P, Lau, K.M, Lau, C.B.S, Fung, K.P, Leung, P.C, Ho, Y.Y
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chichester, UK John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 01-06-2009; Wiley
• Subjects: Astragalus Plant - chemistry; Biological and medical sciences; Cell Survival - drug effects; Cells, Cultured; Chinese medicine; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 - drug therapy; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 - surgery; Diabetic Foot - drug therapy; Diabetic Foot - surgery; diabetic mellitus; Drugs, Chinese Herbal - therapeutic use; fibroblast; Fibroblasts - drug effects; foot ulcer; General pharmacology; granulation tissue; Humans; Insulin - therapeutic use; Medical sciences; Pharmacognosy. Homeopathy. Health food; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Phytotherapy; Rehmannia - chemistry; wound healing; Wound Healing - drug effects; Asia; China; Endocrinopathy; Granulation tissue; Skin disease; Diabetic Foot; foot ulcer; Wound; Medicinal plant; Hypoglycemic agent; Chinese medicine; Folk medicine; Healing agent; Dicotyledones; Angiospermae; Disease of the foot; Ulcer; Below ground plant part; Nervous system diseases; wound healing; Root; Pharmacognosy; Diabetes mellitus; Leguminosae; Plant origin; Spermatophyta; Fibroblast; Viability; diabetic mellitus
• ISSN: 0951-418X; 1099-1573
• DOI: 10.1002/ptr.2649

Over 194 million people suffer from diabetes worldwide. The improper control of diabetes may result in diabetic foot ulcer or even amputation. Herbal medicine provides a means for treating diabetic foot ulcers for a large population in developing countries. The wound healing-enhancing activities of the principal herbs, Radix Astragali (RA) and Radix Rehmanniae (RR) in two clinically efficacious Chinese herbal formulae were studied in primary fibroblasts from diabetic foot ulcer patients. The 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay showed that RA and RR significantly enhanced the viability of fibroblasts isolated from foot ulcers of diabetic patients, even from those with no response to insulin treatment. The results in this study indicate that fibroblast viability enhancement effects of RA and RR likely underlie the healing effects of F1 and F2 in diabetic foot ulcers. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.