The latest research review on Chinese herbs of anti myocardial ischemia

Tiejun Tang, Louise Helen Booker

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the UK's biggest killer. Although western medicine has achieved a lot progress in treating CHD, it is still causing around 82,000 deaths each year. About one in five men and one in eight women die from the disease. In traditional Chinese medicine many herbal remedies have showed a good effect on treating angina. Many laboratory studies have been done to investigate the mechanism of treating myocardial ischemia (MI). I published a research review on this topic many years ago (Tang, T. 2003). Many progressive new reports have been published in the last 5 years. For a clinical practitioner these research updates will provide a helpful reference in treatment of CHD. For researchers and students it can provide a useful reference for future research projects. As for the general public, it has displayed some scientific evidence for Chinese herbs in treating ischemic heart disease.

1. Research on individual herb and plant monomer  

 Danshen (Salvia miltiorrhiza) is a very commonly used traditional Chinese herb in treating heart disease. It contains many sub fractions, which are mainly TanshinoneⅠ, ⅡA, ⅡB, Salvianolic acid A (SAA), and Salvianolic acid B (SAB). In an in vivo study, rat MI model was induced by permanent left anterior descending coronary artery ligation. The results showed Tanshinone IIA attenuates the MI pathological changes and improves heart function, and reduces expression of MCP-1, TGF-β₁ and macrophage infiltration. It could also decrease the expression of TNF-α and activation of nuclear transcription factor-kappa B (Z.H.Ren, 2010).        Researchers applied a myocardial infarct rats model. The rats were given different concentrations of SAA. Immunohistological analysis was performed to measure vascular endothelial growth factor and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 expressions. The secretion of matrix metalloproteinase type X was evaluated in serum of post-ischemic rats. The result showed SAA potentiated the ischemia induced neovascularization. These findings show that SAA has potent proangiogenic properties by promoting the expression of proangiogenic factors (Yujuan Li, 2014).  Another study shows SAB also can markedly and dose-dependently reduce fibrinogen and malonaldehyde levels, increase the HDL level, improve blood viscosity and plasma viscosity in MI rabbits (Qian Yang, 2010). A study applied an RT-PCR and Western blot method to detect p38 MAPK gene expression. The result suggests that Tanshinone IIA play a role in protection cardiomyocytes from ischemic and hypoxic injury. The effect is based on inhibiting miR-1 expression through p38 MAPK signal pathway (Zhang, Y. 2010).

 Asperosaponin VI is a saponin from Chinese herb Xuduan (Dipsacus asper). A study investigated the anti-MI effects of Asperosaponin VI both in vivo and in vitro. The results suggested that it could provide significant cardioprotective effects against acute MI in rats. These mechanisms might be attributed to scavenging lipid peroxidation products and reactive oxygen species, increasing antioxidant defence enzymes and preventing mitochondrial damage (Chunmei Li, 2010).

Angelica sinensis polysaccharides are an active ingredient extracted from Danggui (Angelica sinensis). The cardioprotective effects were evaluated by using MI/reperfusion rats.  A.sinensis polysaccharides treatment significantly reduced myocardial infarction size, enhanced CT-1 and antioxidant enzymes activity, down regulated caspase-12 mRNA expression in rats (Song Zhang, 2010).

Juemingzi (Semen Cassiae) was proved to reduce blood lipid levels. A study investigated whether it can reduce MI and reperfusion injury. The results showed Juemingzi extract can not only significantly reduce the plasma lipid level, but it can also improve the instantaneous first derivation of left ventricle pressure and reduce infarct size (Feng Fu, 2014).

 Gegen (Lobed Kudzuvine Root) has been widely used in the treatment of myocardial and cerebral ischemia. Puerarin is a major active ingredient extracted from Gegen. A study was designed to observe the effects of puerarin on the signalling transmission mediated by P2X₃ receptor in stellate ganglia and cervical dorsal root ganglia after MI damage. The results suggested that Puerarin could reduce systolic blood pressure and heart rate, relieved pain and decreased up-regulated expression of P2X₃ mRNA and protein after MI. Puerarin was shown to inhibit the up-regulated ATP-activated currents after MI. This suggested that puerarin can relieve MI through blocking the P2X₃ signalling transmission (Shuangmei Liu, 2014).

Rougui (Cinnamomum cassia) is widely used for the treatment of ischemic heart disease. The active components, cinnamic aldehyde and cinnamic acid, can be isolated from Rougui. A study has investigated the effects of anti MI of Cinnamic aldehyde and cinnamic acid. The results showed these two extracts can decrease the ST elevation induced by acute MI, decreased serum levels of CK-MB, LDH, TNF-α and IL-6, and increased serum NO activity, increased SOD activity and decreased MDA content in myocardial tissue (Fan Song,2013).

Shanzha (hawthorn) is commonly used Chinese medicine. A study was designed to investigate the effects and mechanisms of hawthorn leaf flavonoids on acute MI/reperfusion in anesthetized dogs. The results indicated that this flavonoid can significantly decrease the degree and scope of MI, markedly inhibit the increase of myeloperoxidase activity, and IL-1 and TNF-α content induced by MI/infarction. It can also increase G protein-coupled receptor kinase 2 expression and inhibited NF-κB expression (Jianhua Fu, 2013).

Tetramethylpyrazine, sodium ferulate and puerarin are extracts from Chinese herbs Chuangxiong, Danggui and Gegen respectively. Some research has shown that these three extracts can antagonize the nociceptive or pain transmission mediated by P2X₃ and/or P2X_2/3 receptors in primary afferent neurons. They could therefore be considered as new methods for treating MI injury and cardiac arrhythmia (Shangdong Liang, 2010).

Dracocephalum moldavica L is an extract from Chinese herb Xiang Qing Lan. A study evaluates antioxidative and cardioprotective effects of total flavonoids extracted from Xiang Qing Lan. It showed remarkable scavenging effects against 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl, hydroxyl and superoxide anion radicals in vitro. It can improve the heart rate and coronary flow, raise left ventricular developed pressure and decrease creatine kinase, lactate dehydrogenase levels in coronary flow. It can also reduce the infarct size in ischemic area of heart. (Jiangtao Jian, 2014).

2. Research on compound formulas

Apart from individual herb and plant monomers, some studies have focused on compound formulas. Many traditional and modern formulas have been shown to be effective in treating MI.

Compound Danshen Tablets (CDT) are formulated from a compound remedy. The ingredients are Danshen, Sanqi, and Borneol. A study investigated therapeutic mechanisms of CDT by using a metabolomic approach. Plasma extracts from sham, MI model, CDT and western medicines were used in treating rats. Plasma was analyzed by ultra-performance liquid chromatography/quadruple. The orthogonal partial least square model was built, and found that metabolites were expressed in significantly different amounts between MI and sham groups of rats. The results showed that CDT presented protective effects on MI by reversing potential biomarkers to sham levels, especially for the four metabolites in the pathway of purine metabolism. (Yonghai Lv, 2010).

Tanshinone IIA, SAB and ginsenoside Rb1 are the three major active ingredients of CDT. A report has found that the combination of these three ingredients brings nearly equal therapeutic effects on MI as CDT and it plays more stable regulated action on those 22 identified metabolites than single compound (Yonghai Lu, 2011). Another report uses an in vivo myocardial infarction model mice; endothelial nitric oxide syntheses (eNOS)/nitric oxide (NO) pathway were detected. The results showed that both Tanshinone IIA and salvianolic acid B have cardio protective function in certain levels through multiple targets related with NO production, such as eNOS phosphorylation, L-arginine uptake (Chunshui Pan, 2011).

Another study applied an ischemia-reperfusion injury rat model to examine coronary blood flow, vascular diameter, velocity of red blood cells, and albumin leakage in vivo after reperfusion. The result showed pre-treatment with CPT significantly attenuated myocardial microcirculatory disturbance, including decreased coronary blood flow and red blood cell velocity in arterioles, increased expression of CD18 on neutrophils and intercellular adhesion molecule 1 on endothelial cells, and albumin leakage from venules. It was also shown that it could significantly ameliorate the myocardial damage and apoptosis, inhibitor-κBα degradation, and expression of Bcl-2, Bax, and caspase-3 in myocardial tissues (Na Zhao, 2010).  A metabonomic study was conducted to assess the effect of Danshen, Sanqi and their compound formula for myocardial infarction in rats.  As a result, the compound was shown to exert synergistic therapeutic efficacies to exhibit a better effect on MI when compared to singular herbs (Xiaoping Liang, 2011).

Gualou Xiebai Tang is composed of Gualou (fructus trichosanthis) and Xiebai (macrostem onion). It was first recorded in JinGui YaoLue, and is one of the main formulae to treat chest pain, used since the Han Dynasty (A.D 206). A study aimed to investigate the effect of Gualou Xiebai Tang ethanol extract on myocardial fibrosis. The mRNA levels of Collagen I and Collagen III were detected by real-time PCR. The results showed that Gualou Xiebai Tang could significantly reduce the heart weight/body weight ratio as well as the left ventricle weight/body weight ratio. It also significantly alleviated the degree of inflammation, decreased myocardial collagen volume fraction, and markedly prevented the up-regulations of Collagen I and Collagen III, down regulated expressions of TGF-β1, TGFβRI, TGFβRII in the rats with myocardial fibrosis (Yongfang Ding, 2013).

 Buyang Huanwu Tang is a commonly used formula to treat ischemic heart disease. A study investigated the potential mechanism of this formula in alleviating MI in rats. The expression of the cluster of differentiation 40 (CD40) in the mononuclear cells was measured using flow cytometry, and the expressions of CD40 and its ligand (CD40L) in myocardial tissues were determined by western blotting. The results showed that Buyang Huanwu Tang could decrease the expression of CD40 in the mononuclear cells and the CD40 and CD40L expressions in myocardial tissues (Yu Liu, 2011).     

Sini Tang is has been used to treat MI for many years. A lot of research has been done in the past two decades. A recent study applied a urinary metabonomic method based on nuclear magnetic resonance and ultra high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry in order to characterize MI related metabolic profiles and delineate the effect of Sini Tang on MI. Nineteen potential biomarkers in rat urine were screened out, primarily related to myocardial energy metabolism, including the glycolysis, citrate cycle, amino acid metabolism, purine metabolism and pyrimidine metabolism. The results demonstrated that Sini Tang could provide satisfactory effect on MI through partially regulating the perturbed myocardial energy metabolism (Guangguo Tan, 2012).

 Guanxin II is a relatively new formula, currently used to treat coronary heart disease. It contains 5 traditional herbs. Akt is a key protein kinase in the processes of inhibition of apoptosis in cardiomyocytes. The results of a study found that Guanxin II can significantly activate Akt kinase, increase the Bcl-2/Bax ratio, inhibit cytochrome c release, reduced caspase-9 activation, and attenuated subsequent caspase-3 activation. These results therefore suggest that Guanxin II ensures the survival of myocardium by enhancing the Akt-mediated antiapoptosis pathway (Xi Huang, 2010).

 Shen-fu injection is a modern formulation composed by Renshen (Ginseng) and Fuzi (Aconite). A study found that this formula can significantly decrease infarct size, apoptosis, caspase-3 protein expression in myocardial tissues, and increase p-Akt, p-eNOS, bcl-2 protein expression, compared to the control group (Yang Wu, 2011). 

In this field a large number of reports have been published within the past 5 years. I have included some of the major ones here. From this review we can sum up a number of points. Firstly, research methods have been updated. A large number of studies have applied the latest biomedical techniques, such as metabolomics, apoptosis, cellular signal transduction etc. These new molecular biology techniques have been widely applied in the research of Chinese herbs. Secondly, Danshen and its sub fractions have become a hot point in this field. There have been approximately 4000-5000 reports conducted annually within the past 3 years. Thirdly, most reports are conducted as laboratory research, and relatively few are clinical reports. Finally, although all the papers are published on formal academic journals, there is still an unfortunate lack of papers from the core journals. As there is a lot of research in Chinese medicine still to be done, I believe there will be much progress in the future of this field.

Reference

1. Chunmei Li. Protective roles of Asperosaponin VI, a triterpene saponin isolated from Dipsacus asper wall on acute myocardial infarction in rats. European Journal of Pharmacology. 2010; 627(1-3): 235-241.
2. Chunshui Pan. Salvianolic acid B and Tanshinone IIA attenuate myocardial ischemia injury in mice by NO production through multiple pathways. Ther. Adv.Cardiovasc.Dis. 2011; 5(2): 99-111.
3. Fan Song. Protective effects of cinnamic acid and cinnamic aldehyde on isoproterenol-induced acute myocardial ischemia in rats. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 2013; 150(1): 125-130.
4. Feng Fu. Semen Cassiae Attenuates Myocardial Ischemia and Reperfusion Injury in High-Fat Diet Streptozotocin-Induced Type 2 Diabetic Rats. Am. J. Chin. Med.2014; 42(1): 95
5. Guangguo Tan. Metabonomic Profiles Delineate the Effect of Traditional Chinese Medicine Sini Decoction on Myocardial Infarction in Rats. PLoS ONE 2012; 7(4): 34157.
6. Jianhua Fu. Hawthorn leaves flavonoids decreases inflammation related to acute myocardial ischemia/reperfusion in anesthetized dogs. Chinese Journal of Integrative Medicine. 2013; 19(8): 582-588.
7. Jiangtao Jiang. Ant oxidative and Cardioprotective Effects of Total Flavonoids Extracted from Dracocephalum moldavica L. Against Acute Ischemia/Reperfusion-Induced Myocardial Injury in Isolated Rat Heart. Cardiovascular Toxicology 2014.
8. Na Zhao , Yu-Ying Liu , Fang Wang.  Cardio tonic pills, a compound Chinese medicine, protects ischemia-reperfusion-induced microcirculatory disturbance and myocardial damage in rats. American Journal of Physiology - Heart and Circulatory Physiology.  2010; 298.  H1166-H1176
9. Qian Yang. Effect of Salvianolic Acid b and Paeonol on Blood Lipid Metabolism and Hemorrheology in Myocardial Ischemia Rabbits Induced by Pituitruin. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2010, 11(10), 3696-3704
10. Shangdong Liang. P2X receptors and modulation of pain transmission: Focus on effects of drugs and compounds used in traditional Chinese medicine. Neurochemistry International. 2010; 57(7): 705-712.
11. Shuangmei Liu.  Puerarin blocks the signalling transmission mediated by P2X₃ in SG and DRG to relieve myocardial ischemic damage. Brain Research Bulletin. 2014; 101: 57-63.
12. Song Zhang. Extraction, chemical analysis of Angelica sinensis polysaccharides and antioxidant activity of the polysaccharides in ischemia–reperfusion rats. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules. 2010; 47(4): 546-550.
13. Tiejun Tang. Experimental research progress on anti myocardial ischemia herbs. Shenzhen Journal of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine 2003；13 (2):111-113,118.
14. Xiaoping Liang, Xi Chen, Qionglin Liang. Metabonomic Study of Chinese Medicine Shuanglong Formula as an Effective Treatment for Myocardial Infarction in Rats.  J. Proteome Res. 2011; 10 (2): 790-799
15. Xi Huang. Pretreatment with a Traditional Chinese Formula, Guanxin II, Reduces Cardiac Apoptosis via the Akt Survival Pathway in Rats with Myocardial Ischemia. The Tohoku Journal of Experimental Medicine. 2010; 220(2): 157-163.
16. Yang Wu. Shen-Fu Injection Preconditioning Inhibits Myocardial Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury in Diabetic Rats: Activation of eNOS via the PI3K/Akt Pathway. Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology.  2011; Article ID 384627, 9 pages.
17. Yongfang Ding. Gualou Xiebai Decoction prevents myocardial fibrosis by blocking TGF-beta/Smad signalling. Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology. 2013; 65(9): 1373-1381.
18. Yonghai Lv. Metabolomic study of myocardial ischemia and intervention effects of Compound Danshen Tablets in rats using ultra-performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis. 2010; 52 (1): 129-135.
19. Yonghai Lv, Xinru Liu. Metabolomic strategy to study therapeutic and synergistic effects of tanshinone IIA, salvianolic acid B and ginsenoside Rb1 in myocardial ischemia rats. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 2011; 134 (1): 45-49.
20. Yu Liu. The Roles of Buyang Huanwu Decoction in Anti-Inflammation, Antioxidation and Regulation of Lipid Metabolism in Rats with Myocardial Ischemia. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Volume 2011 , Article ID 561396, 8 pages.
21. Yujuan Li. Salvianolic acid A promotes the acceleration of neovascularization in the ischemic rat myocardium and the functions of endothelial progenitor cells. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 2014; 151 (1): 218-227.
22. Z.H. Ren. Tanshinone II A attenuates inflammatory responses of rats with myocardial infarction by reducing MCP-1 expression Phytomedicine. 2010; 17 (3-4): 212-218.
23. Zhang Y. Tanshinone IIA Inhibits miR-1 Expression through p38 MAPK Signal Pathway in Post-infarction Rat Cardiomyocytes. Cell Physiol Biochem 2010;26:991–998 

Phenomenon of Yin/Yang in human body

Tiejun Tang

Yin &Yang is the most important conception in the basic theory of traditional Chinese medicine. The theory Yin-Yang holds that every object or phenomena in the universe consists of two opposite aspects, which are in conflict and in interdependence. The relation between Yin & Yang is the universal law of the world. In side the human body everything has yin & yang. Normally yin/yang should keep balance, if yin/yang lost balance the disease will occur. The treatment principle is trying to make the yin/yang rebalance.

In modern physiology and pathology there are many phenomenon have the characteristic of yin/ yang. In Chinese medicine we balance the yin/yang by herbs and acupuncture, actually we are regulating the function of many systems. The table below shows some examples of yin/yang phenomenon in human body.

	Yang	Yin
Autonomic nervous system	Sympathetic nerve	Parasympathetic nerve
Receptor	α-adrenoceptor	β-adrenoceptor
Thyroid function	Thyroxine	Parathormone
Pancreas	Pancreatic Glucagon	Insulin
Immune system	TH cell	TS cell
Cancer pathology	Oncogene	anti-Oncogene
Cell apoptosis	Apoptosis gene	anti-Apoptosis
Molecular biology	cAPM Cyclic adenosine  monophosphate	cGPM  Cyclic guanosine  monophosphate

What is essence of yin & yang?  An American biochemists (Goldberg;1975) had put forward a cAMP/cGMP hypothesis.  A report from Columbia University (Shrivastava;1994) had found a gene of multifunctional transcriptional regulator which can regulate the balance of cAMP/cGMP. He named this gene as yin yang-1. In my opinion yin yang-1 probably is the first messenger of yin/yang, cAMP/cGMP is the second messenger of yin/yang in molecular signal transduction. They can activate many different protein kinases and produce different biologic functions (Tiejun Tang,2004). In pace with the development of modern science, more and more yin/yang phenomenon will be discovered.

Reference:

1.     ND Goldberg, MK Haddox, SE Nicol, DB Glass, CH Sanford.  Biological regulation through opposing influences of a cGMP and cAMP. The yin yang Hypothesis. Advances in Cyclic Nucleotide Research, 1975; 5: 307-30.

2.     Shrivastava,-A; Calame,-K. An analysis of genes regulated by the multi-functional transcriptional regulator Yin Yang-1.  Nucleic-Acids-Res. 1994 ; 22(24): 5151-5.

3.     Tiejun Tang. The nuclear factor yin-yang 1 and the yin/yang theory of TCM  Shaanxi Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine. 2004；25（3）: 239-242.

The truth about TCM

Tiejun Tang

If there is a yin, there is a yang,
If yin and yang keep balanced, you will be in good health;

If there is a blockage inside body, it will cause a pain,
If the obstruction is removed, the pain will be released;
If there is a qi stagnation, the blood stasis will following,
If there is a qi deficiency, the blood deficiency will following;

If the qi stagnation in the liver meridian, the depression will occurs,
If the qi stagnation in the stomach and intestine, the distension will emerge,
If the liver yang excess, there will be dizziness or hypertension,
If the kidney yin deficiency, hot flash and night sweat will arise,
If there is a disharmony between kidney and heart, insomnia will occurs,
If there is a disharmony between liver and spleen, it will lead to a IBS,
If there is damp-heat in bladder, there is UTI;

If you have too much dampness, the obese will arise,
If you drinking too much alcohol, the damp-heat produce,
If you smoking too much, the heat toxin will damage your lung;

If you want be healthy, you should take care yourselves,
If there is heat, cool it,
If there is cold, warm it,
If there is dryness, moisten it,
If there is dampness, dry it,
If there is deficiency, supplement it, and
If there is excess, drain it;

If you like to try, I will make you fine,
If you want to know more, I  would like to tell you why.

How to decoct Chinese herbs?

KnowHow Herbal Remedy

Tiejun Tang

KnowHow Acupuncture is not only an acupuncture clinic, we also provide Chinese herbal medicine treatment. In KnowHow, there are 200 high quality raw herbs that can be selected for decoction, a traditional method of taking Chinese medicine. Two years ago, I published an article talking about the advantages of decoction in my blog. Selecting herbs according to the patient’s individual condition can ensure precise and effective treatment. Moreover, the prescription is adaptable as the condition changes and the active ingredients of the herbs are easily absorbed by the body. However, some patients may find taking a herbal decoction inconvenient as it tends to have a bitter taste, be quite costly and takes a long time to decoct.

What is the second option for taking a herbal formulation? KnowHow concentrated herbal tablets can be a good alternative. Let’s see its manufacturing process:      

As we can see from the manufacturing process detailed above, the tablets of KnowHow are made differently from other types of Chinese herbal tablets and pills. As there is a decocting and concentrating process, the properties of the tablets are similar to those of a decoction. Also, as the tablet is highly concentrated, there is no need for large doses, as can be the case with other herbal tablets. Usually, three tablets twice a day are enough for most conditions.

The recipes for KnowHow herbal tablets come from classic herbal formulae used for hundreds, even thousands, of years. They also come from my personal experience treating common ailments in the UK. All of the ingredients come from natural herbs. We use no animal or mineral substances, and no endangered species. The labeling on the pills clearly states the Latin and Chinese names of each herb, the expiry date of the tablets and the clinic address,

KnowHow concentrated tablets are an efficient, convenient and most of all, safe herbal remedy. 

Acupuncture may protect your liver from alcoholic damage

Tiejun Tang

Do you drink? How often do you get drunk? What is your best hangover cure? Perhaps it’s time to throw out those egg yolks and try needles instead, as new research suggests that acupuncture on certain points on the body can reduce liver damage caused by alcohol.

It is widely known that over-consumption of alcohol can cause liver damage. There are three main stages of liver disease caused by alcohol: alcoholic fatty liver disease, alcoholic hepatitis and cirrhosis. According to NHS Choices, it is estimated that 90-100% of heavy drinkers have alcoholic fatty liver disease, one in four drinkers with fatty liver disease will develop alcoholic hepatitis and one in five drinkers with fatty liver disease will develop cirrhosis. Death rates linked to alcoholic liver disease have risen by more than two-thirds (69%) in the past 30 years in UK.

The best way to treat alcoholic liver disease is to stop drinking alcohol. Western medicine use Disulfiram (sold under the brand name Antabuse), and Acamprosate to help people abstain from alcohol. However, this may lead to a severe and sometimes fatal reaction known as a disulfiram–alcohol reaction. It is widely known that drinking alcohol can be harmful to the liver, however habitual alcohol abuse remains a problem deeply ingrained into British society. Often, heavy drinkers find it difficult to abstain from alcohol due to the addictive nature of the drug.

A recent study in China ^[1] suggested that electric acupuncture on Taichong (LV3) – the third point on liver meridian, could protect the liver from alcohol damage. Researchers used 40 rats divided into a control group, a model group, a group using electro-acupuncture on LV 3 and a group using electro-acupuncture on non-acupuncture points. The rats were administered 40ml/kg of distillate alcohol for 12 hours – enough to overwhelm the liver and create mild liver injury. Rats were then treated for 30 minutes using the acupoint LV3. At the conclusion of the study, liver tissues were collected and ALT and AST liver markers, enzymes present in the blood at elevated levels when there is liver damage, were measured. Within the acupuncture on LV3 group, ALT and AST levels were significantly reduced, whereas the control group exhibited elevated levels of these enzymes. Another study ^[2], utilising the same experiment model whereby fatty liver disease is measured in rats, suggested that electro-acupuncture at Zusanli (ST36) could significantly reduce fatty degeneration of hepatic cells. These research results could spell good news for heavy drinkers.

If you find it difficult to give up drinking altogether, why not try to minimize the damage that can be caused by alcohol? Acupuncture could provide a convenient solution for the heavy drinker. Apart from the two acupoints mentioned above, a variety of acupoints can be selected, creating a ‘point prescription’ according to the different symptoms of each individual case.  Some Chinese herbs may also be effective in protecting the liver from alcohol damage. The best time to seek acupuncture treatment is the day after a night of heavy drinking, or few hours before a heavy drinking session. Remember: no acupuncture whilst drunk!

There’s no harm in enjoying a night out, but don't forget your liver! A happy liver makes for a long and healthy life.

Reference:

1. Chen BJ. 2011. Effect of electroacupuncture of "Taichong" (LR 3) on liver function in mild alcoholic liver injury rats. Zhen Ci Yan Jiu  36(6):419-22.

2. Wang Wei. 2004, Effects of electroacupuncture at “Zusanli” (ST 36) on alcoholic fatty liver rat model. Chinese Acupuncture & Moxibustion  2004 -12.

Preserving the Whole (Heiner Fruehauf & My tutor professor Deng Tietao)

Goodbye Asante and Hello Middlesex

Tiejun Tang

I quitted my job at Asante Academy of Chinese Medicine on 15^th August 2013. I had worked in Asante for 8 years and 4 month since April 2005. Eight years is longer enough to keep a lot of memories in my mind, and I had met many very nice colleagues, many lovely students and many patients. Some of them became my good friends. I would like to say thank you to Dr Ke for given me the opportunity to meet so many good people, to teach so many students and to serve so many patients. Thank you to my dear colleagues for everything you did for me in the past days. Thank you to all the staffs of Day Treatment Centre in Whittington hospital.  At the time to say good bye, I send my best wishes to all of you.

Eight years time is nearly a quarter in my 34 years Chinese medicine career. My first job was at Xijing Hospital, the Forth Military Medical University, it last 5 years and ended because of my MSc study. My second job was at the First Military Medical University, it last for 12 years, but these 12 years was interrupted by my PhD study and post doctoral research work at two other universities. Asante work is the longest job in my career without any interruption. Before I came to UK, I had spent 26 years time to accumulate my Chinese medicine knowledge in China. As a medical practitioner, I believe that if you want to give your patient a better service you should continue updating your medical knowledge. That is why I never stop continuing professional development for higher degree. The patient’s precious life and health is in your hand. You cannot make any mistakes at any time.

From September I will join a completely new teaching clinic of Middlesex University which is based near Hendon campus. I will continue my clinical treatment and teaching work in that new clinic. New term will be a new start. I will meet new colleagues, new students and new patients. In this complementary medicine clinic we will have Chinese medicine, western herbal medicine and ayurveda. Three branches of traditional medicine will work together. I think this combination will give patients more benefits. I am very sure the new clinic will become one of the best teaching clinics in complementary medicine field.

If you are my patient or used to be my patient, you are more than welcome to see me at the new teaching clinic of Middlesex university.

You also can see me at my private clinic in Harley street central London. You can book your private or student treatment session online at www.harleystreetchineseacupuncture.co.uk