Effects of Hyul-Bu-Chuke-Tang on Erythrocyte Deformability and Cerebrovascular CO 2 Reactivity in Normal Subjects

• Published in: Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine Vol. 2012; pp. 1 - 7
• Main Authors: Jung, Woo-Sang, Park, Joo-Young, Byeon, Hyung-Sik, Kim, Young-Jee, Park, Jung-Mi, Park, Seong-Uk, Cho, Seung-Yeon, Moon, Sang-Kwan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Hindawi Limited 2012
• Subjects: Acute effects; Age; Alcohol; Blood; Blood pressure; Carbon dioxide; Carthamus tinctorius; Cerebrovascular diseases; Chinese medicine; Cnidium; Deformability; Deformation effects; Erythrocytes; Free radicals; Herbal medicine; Herbs; Hyperventilation; Ischemia; Males; Paeonia lactiflora; Pharmaceutical sciences; Reactivity; Substance abuse treatment; Ultrasonic imaging; Ultrasound; Umbelliferae
• ISSN: 1741-427X; 1741-4288
• DOI: 10.1155/2012/725241

Aim . Hyul-bu-chuke-tang (HCEt) is a well-known traditional herbal medicine that is used for the treatment of ischemic cerebrovascular disorders. We investigated the acute effects of HCEt on erythrocyte deformability and cerebrovascular CO 2 reactivity (CVR) in healthy male subjects. Materials and Methods . We examined erythrocyte deformability in an HCEt group ( n = 14 ) and a control group ( n = 10 ). CVR was measured using hyperventilation-induced CO 2 reactivity of the middle cerebral artery and transcranial Doppler (TCD) in the HCEt group ( n = 11 ). A historical control group ( n = 10 ) of CVR measurements was also created from our previous study. All measurements were performed prior to and 1, 2, and 3 hours after HCEt administration. Results . HCEt significantly improved erythrocyte deformability 1 hour after administration compared to the control group ( 2.9 ± 1.1 % versus - 0.6 ± 1.0 %, P = 0.034 ). HCEt significantly improved the CVR 2 hours after administration compared to the historical control group ( 9.1 ± 4.0 % versus - 8.1 ± 4.1 %, P = 0.007 ). The mean blood pressure and pulse rate did not vary from baseline values in either group. Conclusions . We demonstrated that HCEt improved erythrocyte deformability and CVR. Our findings suggest that an improvement in erythrocyte deformability contributes to HCEt’s effect on cerebral microcirculation.