ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Ethnopharmacology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1679105
Mongolian medicine theory-based multidimensional evaluation of toxicity mitigation in Hezi-processed Caowu jointly mediated by powder dosage form and small dose
Provisionally accepted
- Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China
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Backgroud: Caowu (CW) is a well-known Mongolian medicine with the effects of dispelling cold and relieving pain. In China, it is widely used in the prevention and treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However,its cardiotoxicity and neurotoxicity seriously restrict its clinical application. Different from the use of CW as a decoction after being boiled in water in TCM, in Mongolian medicine, CW is processed using Hezi (HZ) decoction or combined with HZ to prepare pills or powders, and administered at a small dosage, thereby ensuring medication safety.This way of medication is a useful experience of the minority.Thus, multi-dimensional research is critical to elucidate the characteristics of the Mongolian ethnic group's detoxification experience. We investigated the content of alkaloids,the anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects, the cardiorenal-hepatic toxicities, and the oxidative stress levels in both powder and decoction of raw CW (SCW) and HZ-processed CW (HCW), with a focus on the toxicity mechanisms in H9c2 cells (specifically for the powder dosage).Results: Using HPLC, we found that both the use of HZ as an excipient for processing CW and decocting CW with water affect the content of alkaloids in CW. In the xylene-induced ear edema model, SCW powder, SCW decoction, and HCW powder showed significant anti-inflammatory effects by regulating inflammation-related factors; in contrast, HCW decoction did not show significant anti-inflammatory effects compared with the model group. In the formalin-induced pain model, both SCW and HCW exerted analgesic effects to varying degrees by regulating pain-related factors. In the toxicity study, SCW powder exhibited the strongest toxicity to the heart; in contrast, SCW decoction had the weakest toxicity, while HCW powder and HCW decoction fell in between. Furthermore, the types of arrhythmia induced by SCW powder were most complex. In addition, the cardiotoxicity of SCW was closely related to oxidative stress. Cell experiments showed that SCW induced H9c2 cell damage, which HCW partially mitigated by regulating the p38/JNK pathway. Conclusion: In conclusion, compared with SCW, HCW reduces toxicity while exerting pharmacological effects in powder dosage form. This attenuation is linked to a reduction in oxidative stress, inhibition of p38/JNK phosphorylation, and regulation of mitochondrial apoptosis-related protein expression.
Keywords: Aconiti Kusnezoffii Radix, Chebulae Fructus, Dosage form, toxicity and effect, alkaloid, p38 / JNK MAPK
Received: 04 Aug 2025; Accepted: 12 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Bao, Zhao, Song, Zu, Wang, Chi, Li and Du. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Hong Du, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China
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