Planta Med 2023; 89(14): 1285-1286
DOI: 10.1055/s-0043-1773838
Abstracts
Keynote Lectures
Monday 3rd July - Wednesday 5th July 2023

Keynote Lecture 9 “Exploration of beneficial herb-drug combinations – will this advance the development and application of herbal medicines?”

Authors

  • Clara Bik-San Lau

    1   Institute of Chinese Medicine and State Key Laboratory of Research on Bioactivities and Clinical Applications of Medicinal Plants, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, China
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Herbal medicines have been traditionally used for over thousands of years worldwide. Despite the conventional therapies which most patients rely on, many patients would go for the complementary and alternative medicine, especially in situations of unmet medical needs. Hence, the combined use of herbs and conventional drugs has been increasing during the past decades, particularly for those patients suffering from chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases or cancers. Thus, apart from evaluation on the efficacies and toxicities of herbal medicines, research on the beneficial potential of combined use of herbal medicines with conventional drugs may even be more relevant to the clinical needs.

Over the years, my research team has been exploring the beneficial efficacies of the combined use of herbal medicines and conventional drugs using preclinical research platforms. For instance, we revealed the new roles of Cistanche deserticola on statin-induced muscle toxicity and the management of diet-induced hyperlipidemia and fatty liver [1]. We have also systematically demonstrated the adjuvant values of herbal medicines towards conventional medicines in cancer management, such as the combination of turmeric and bevacizumab in colon cancer [2], Camellia sinensis and metronomic zoledronate in metastatic breast cancer [3], as well as Andrographis paniculata and chemotherapeutics (5-fluorouracil and cisplatin) in metastatic esophageal cancer [4]. The findings on herb-drug combinations with both efficacy augmentation and toxicity reduction, together with evidence from future clinical trials, will undoubtedly benefit patients. Scientific evidences arise from these studies as proof-of-concept and are certainly important for the advancement of herbal medicines development.



Publication History

Article published online:
16 November 2023

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  • References

  • 1 Wat E, Ng CF, Koon CM, Zheng C, Gao S, Tomlinson B, Lau CBS.. The adjuvant value of Herba Cistanches when used in combination with statin in murine models. Scientific Reports 2017; 7: 9391
    PubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 2 Yue GGL, Kwok HF, Lee JKM, Jiang L, Wong ECW, Gao S, Wong HL, Lin L, Chan KM, Leung PC, Fung KP, Zuo Z, Lau CBS.. Combined therapy using bevacizumab and turmeric ethanolic extract (with absorbable curcumin) exhibited beneficial efficacy in colon cancer mice. Pharmacological Research 2016; 111: 43-57
    PubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 3 Luo KW, Ko CH, Yue GGL, Gao S, Lee JKM, Li G, Fung KP, Leung PC, Evdokiou A, Lau CBS.. The combined use of Camellia sinensis and metronomic zoledronic acid in a breast cancer-induced osteolysis mouse model. Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology 2015; 141: 1025-1036
    PubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 4 Li L, Yue GGL, Lee JKM, Wong ECW, Fung KP, Yu J, Lau CBS, Chiu PWY.. The adjuvant value of Andrographis paniculata in metastatic esophageal cancer treatment – from preclinical perspectives. Scientific Reports 2017; 7: 854
    PubMedSearch in Google Scholar