Insights & Discussion
Jia Wei Yu Ping Feng San, a traditional Chinese medicine, alleviates allergic asthma by reducing airway inflammation, mediated by suppressing group 2 innate lymphoid cells.
In this study, a model of allergic asthma was established by sensitizing and challenging female C57BL/6 mice with Ovalbumin (OVA). Following this, the assessment of airway hyperresponsiveness was done using direct airway resistance analysis. Levels of inflammation were examined in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), and lung tissue sections were analyzed through HE and PAS staining, studying mucus hypersecretion and inflammatory cell infiltration. The number and proportion of ILC2s, their related transcription factors (GATA3, IRF4), and type 2 cytokines were also measured from lung tissue samples. Moreover, the ILC2s were extracted from mouse lungs followed by evaluation of ILC2s-related cytokines, and transcription factors GATA3 and IRF4 after IL33-induced activation of ILC2s.
The results showed that JWYPFS treatment significantly mitigated airway resistance and decreased inflammatory cells such as eosinophils in these mice. It also hindered mucus production and type 2 cytokines. Importantly, JWYPFS dramatically decreased the number and proportion of ILC2s, and the mRNA levels of their related transcription factors - GATA3, and IRF4. This research indicates that JWYPFS could be an effective agent in treating allergic asthma by alleviating ILC2s-mediated airway inflammation.
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A traditional Chinese prescription, Yu Ping Feng San, significantly mitigates symptoms in cases of asthma recurrence, outperforming commonly prescribed asthma medications.
2020 Frontiers in Pharmacology A Chinese Prescription Yu-Ping-Feng-San Administered in Remission Restores Bronchial Epithelial Barrier to Inhibit House Dust Mite-Induced Asthma Recurrence Bao K, Yuan W, Zhou Y, Chen Y, Yu X, Wang X, et al.
Animal Study Yu Ping Feng San
In the research, an optimized mouse model was employed, which was induced with asthma recurrence by house dust mites. This model exhibited classic asthma responses, such as augmented airways hyperresponsiveness, increased serum IgE, and elevated pulmonary type 2 cytokines levels among others. Then, YPFS was applied during the remission phase preceding a second symptomatic phase. The researchers observed significant improvements in the asthmatic pathological features, and compared its effectiveness to three different types of standard clinical medications: dexamethasone, montelukast, and salbutamol, which were given during the recurrence phase.
The research results revealed that the application of YPFS during the remission phase remarkably alleviated the asthma relapses induced by house dust mites. This was achieved by restoring the deficiency of desmoglein 1 (a type of protein) and decreasing thymic stromal lymphopoietin (a type of cytokine) overexpression, which are believed to be key contributors to chronic asthma relapse. Not only was the fundamental role of desmoglein 1 in asthma pathogenesis demonstrated, it also gave rise to a new and potent strategy for chronic asthma treatment.
Yu Ping Feng San, a Chinese herbal medicine, combined with pharmacotherapy could be effective for treating allergic rhinitis in adults.
2017 BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies Potential effectiveness of Chinese herbal medicine Yu ping feng san for adult allergic rhinitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials Luo Q, Zhang CS, Yang L, Zhang AL, Guo X, Xue CC, et al.
Systematic Review Yu Ping Feng San
The paper evaluates Chinese herbal medicine, YPFS, for treating allergic rhinitis in adults by conducting a meta-analysis and subgroup meta-analyses of several randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Seven databases were searched from their inceptions to September 2017 where RCTs evaluating YPFS for adult allergic rhinitis were included. The Cochrane risk of bias tool was used to assess the methodological quality of these studies and meta-analysis and subgroup meta-analyses were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of YPFS.
Based on the results, YPFS when used in combination with pharmacotherapy seemed to be more effective than using pharmacotherapy alone for treating allergic rhinitis. The paper highlighted an alleviation of four individual nasal symptom scores post YPFS combination treatment; these being itchy nose, sneezing, blocked nose, and runny nose. Furthermore, it was found that the YPFS combination treatment was more beneficial when it was used for more than three weeks. The paper also mentions that YPFS was safe and well-tolerated for treating adult allergic rhinitis. However, it did not seem to be superior to the second-generation antihistamine.