Kaempferia galanga L.: Progresses in Phytochemistry, Pharmacology, Toxicology and Ethnomedicinal Uses

K. galanga is an aromatic medicinal herb. It is locally to India and distributed in China, Myanmar, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. K. galanga is a Traditional Chinese Herb Medicine (TCHM), which has been applied to treat cold, dry cough, toothaches, rheumatism, hypertension and so on. In addition, it has been used widely as spices since its highly aromas. The aim of this review is to compile and update the current progresses of ethnomedicinal uses, phytochemistry, pharmacology and toxicology of K. galanga. All the data on K. galanga were based on different classical literary works, multiple electronic databases including SciFinder, Web of Science, PubMed, etc. The results showed that ninety-seven compounds have been identified from rhizome of K. galanga, including terpenoids, phenolics, cyclic dipeptides, flavonoids, diarylheptanoids, fatty acids and esters. Modern pharmacology studies revealed that extracts or secondary metabolites of the herb possessed anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-tumorous, anti-bacterial, and anti-angiogenesis effects, which were closely related to its abundant ethnomedicinal uses. In conclusion, although previous research works have provided various information of K. galanga, more in-depth studies are still necessary to systemically evaluate phytochemistry, pharmacological activities, toxicity and quality control of this herb.

Acupuncture And Chinese Herb Medicine Yangjing Zhongyu Decoction For The Treatment of Endometriosis-Associated Infertility: A Study Protocol For A Multi-Center, Controlled and Randomized Clinical Trial

Introduction: Endometriosis is an inflammatory estrogen-dependent gynecological disease, which is one of the common reasons for infertility. The current treatments of endometriosis-associated infertility often involve laparoscopic surgery, medical therapy and in vitro fertilization (IVF) therapy, which are expensive, and the therapeutic effects are far from the expectation. Acupuncture and Yangjing Zhongyu Decoction (YZD) which have the advantages of effective and inexpensive, have been used clinically for the infertile female in China for many years. However, a comprehensive evaluation of the current clinical evidence of their efficacy is lacking. Our study intends to evaluate the efficacy of acupuncture and YZD on endometriosis-associated infertility (EAI).Methods/design: This study is a multi-center, controlled and randomized clinical trial. A total of 224 eligible patients with endometriosis-associated infertility will be randomly assigned into two groups, in a 1:1 ratio as the treatment group or the control group. All participants will receive pregnancy guidance. The participants assigned to the treatment group will be treated with acupuncture and YZD while the control group will receive the GnRH-a therapy. The trial will include three menstrual cycles of treatment and twelve menstrual cycles of follow-up. The primary outcome is pregnancy rate that will be verified by human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) tests and secondary outcomes include the result of ultrasound, cancer antigen 125 (CA125), anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH), sex hormones, alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and the Endometriosis Health Profile-5 (EHP-5). Outcome will be collected at baseline, the end of treatments and follow-up visits at 3, 6 and 12 menstrual cycles. All the data including the major adverse events will be recorded in electronic case report forms and analysed by SPSS V.25.0.Discussion: This study protocol will help to evaluate whether acupuncture and Chinese herb medicine Yangjing Zhongyu Decoction are effective in increasing pregnancy rate of the infertile female with endometriosis.Trial registration: ChiCTR2100042830; Registered on 29 January 2021.

Suggestion of an Alternative Approach of Inhalation of Volatile Chemicals from Onion and Garlic for Isolated Patient of Mild Onset Infected Flu: Review and Communication

Virus-infected Flu is a common disease. To date, no specific drugs are available to manage the symptoms of cough, headache and sputum production. An alternative Chinese herb medicine is introduced for virus-infected Flu or similar infection. Before hospitalization, some of patients may scare for cross-infection with mild symptoms or hardly go to hospital if encountered a temporary lockdown or quarantine. Some Chinese practice self-treatment of cough, headache and sputum production by inhalation of volatile chemicals from onion and garlic. Author used to take the same alternative approach of inhalation of onion, garlic or scallions for self-treatment when suffered virus caused flu with cough, headache and sputum production at onset disease. In this article, the biomedical effects of onion and garlic are reviewed. To help patients with mild symptoms of virus infected Flu, a simple home-based treatment was suggested to self-treatment because of temporary isolation and hardly going to hospitalization. The alternative approach may also suggest for some mild virus infected respiratory diseases caused by virus at onset disease.