Anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial effects of heat-clearing Chinese herbs: A current review

Inflammation is a normal immune response; but if the body's regulation of inflammation is dysfunctional, then it will have an adverse effect on the body. Although use of modern drugs for inflammation has a relieving effect, it is still unsatisfactory. Moreover, the emergence of drug-resistant strains and even new kinds of microorganisms is causing significant morbidity and mortality. Recently, more attention has been focused on herbal medicine to treat various diseases because of the ability of the herbs to affect multiple target signaling pathways and their multiple mechanisms of action. Thus, a large number of studies have reported on the anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial effects of the traditional Chinese herbs. Literature survey was performed by conducting systematic electronic search in PubMed, Science Direct, Google Scholar, and in books. This review has listed 11 heat-clearing Chinese herbs (HCCHs) including Scutellaria baicalensis (Huáng Qín), Coptis chinensis (Huáng Lián), Flos Lonicerae (Jin Yín Hua), Forsythia suspensa (Lián Qiào), Isatidis Folium (Dà Qin Yè), Radix Isatidis (Ban Lán Gen), Viola yedoensis (Zi Hua Dì Din), Pulsatilla Radix (Bái Tóu Wen), Andrographis paniculata ( Chuan Xin Lián), Houttuynia cordata (Yú Xing Cao), and Patrinia Herba (Bài Jiàn Cao), which have anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial effects, and has described their effects through different mechanisms of action and multiple targets. Their ability to affect multiple target signaling pathways and their potential mechanisms of action contributing to their anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activity may be related to their action of removing heat and counteracting toxicity. Further studies are needed on the collection of HCCHs to know the detailed mechanism of action of herbs in this group for the assessment of effective drug.