Science Translational Medicine: coralline berry leaf extract can effectively treat asthma

Until late autumn, the temperature continued to drop, and winter was approaching People with a history of asthma should pay special attention Because asthma patients are very sensitive to the changes of air temperature and pressure, and their adaptability is weak, the decrease of air temperature is easy to cause upper respiratory tract infection and induce asthma, so this is the high incidence period of asthma and other respiratory diseases Asthma is a chronic disease characterized by inflammation of the lungs and airway stenosis, resulting in dyspnea and sometimes aggravation This respiratory disease cannot be cured, but asthma symptoms can be controlled in a long or short period of time through maintenance therapy There is no cure for asthma Asthma can affect people of any age In the United States, more than 22 million people suffer from asthma, including nearly 6 million children Some asthma symptoms include shortness of breath, chest tightness, cough and wheezing Sometimes it disappears without treatment, and sometimes it gets worse Severe asthma can require urgent care and can be fatal Almost all asthmatics also have allergic reactions, but some of them are not allergic, and the exact cause is not completely clear The inducing factors of asthma include the substances that cause allergic reaction, including dust mite, pollen and air pollution Aspirin and other drugs can also trigger asthma responses, as can air conditioning and extreme emotions Although there are treatment methods to help patients control diseases and enjoy a good quality of life, there is no cure for asthma at present Recently, scientists from the University of Bonn in Germany and the University of Nottingham in the UK are studying substances extracted from coral berry leaves for the treatment of asthma There is an important therapeutic prospect in the pathogenesis of asthma, but it is still in the experimental research stage, not able to enter the human body for practical diagnosis and treatment Coralline berry is a common ornamental plant, which forms bright red berries in winter, which makes it a popular ornamental plant in winter Corals originated in East Asia, and then spread to the United States and Australia At present, corals can be seen in garden centers around the world Dr Daniela Wenzel of the University of Bonn in Germany and researchers from the University of Nottingham in the UK found that substances extracted from coral leaves are more effective than the most common antiasthmatic drug, salbutamol Researchers have successfully extracted the active drug from coralline berry leaves, which is called fr900359 (FR) Fr interacts with Gq protein of cell signal transduction In general, the interaction of several conduction pathways can lead to airway stenosis Inhibition of a single signaling pathway can prevent the contraction of the respiratory tract But in patients with severe asthma, this contraction cannot be completely prevented These contractile signals aggregate on Gq protein, which triggers respiratory spasm "When we use fr900359 to inhibit the activation of Gq protein, we will achieve better results," said Dr Michaela Matthey, an important participant in the study The higher the dose of FR, the longer the administration time, the stronger the inhibition of respiratory tract contraction The relationship between the dosage and administration time of FR and the inhibition of respiratory tract contraction (source: Science Translational Medicine) In this study, fr900359 (FR) has a significant effect on asthma in mice Fr can effectively prevent bronchostenosis caused by allergic reaction in mice, and there is almost no side effect This active ingredient is inhaled through the respiratory tract and only a small amount enters the circulatory system Fr900359, a leaf extract of coralline berry, inhibited Gq protein, a key signal molecule in cells At the same time, the compound can effectively prevent the spasmodic contraction of pulmonary muscles, which is a typical symptom of asthma What's more, the substance extracted from coral can relieve these symptoms more effectively than the most commonly used asthma drug salbutamol However, it is not clear whether the compound is suitable for human body In the next few years, researchers expect their findings to lead to the development of new drugs to treat and even prevent asthma Paper link: http://stm.sciencemag.org/content/9/407/eaag2288? RSS = 1