The role and efficacy of Polygala

Polygala is a Chinese herbal medicine that is very helpful in treating diseases, but there are also many requirements for its use. It cannot be chosen casually, otherwise it will cause great harm to human health. People also need to pay attention to this. Although Polygala is a good choice for treating diseases, it is also best to use it correctly. So what are the effects and functions of Polygala?

Many people do not know much about the effects and functions of Polygala tenuifolia. Therefore, when choosing such medicine, it is necessary to have a comprehensive understanding of it. This will be of great help in the treatment of the disease and will prevent other problems from arising.

The efficacy and function of Polygala:

1. Effects on the nervous system

(1) Sedative and anticonvulsant effects

The root bark of Polygala tenuifolia, the whole root of Polygala tenuifolia without pith removed and the pith of the root all have synergistic effects on barbiturates.

(2) Promoting physical and intellectual strength

(3) Anti-dementia and brain protection activity

2. Effects on the respiratory system

Polygala tenuifolia has an expectorant effect, but due to different experimental methods, its expectorant effect varies greatly. Using the phenol red excretion method in mice, the expectorant effect of Polygala tenuifolia was stronger than that of Platycodon grandiflorum, while using the dog respiratory secretion fluid measurement method, its effect was not as good as that of Platycodon grandiflorum. Other scholars reported that oral administration of 1 g/kg Polygala tenuifolia decoction to anesthetized dogs had no expectorant effect. The study found that the chemical composition and pharmacological effects of the root bark and root heartwood of Polygala tenuifolia are not exactly the same. The saponin content of the root heartwood of Polygala tenuifolia is only 4% of that of the root bark. The minimum effective dose of the former for expectoration in mice is 1.25 g/kg, while the latter has no expectorant effect even when used up to 50 g/kg. It is speculated that the expectorant effect of Polygala tenuifolia may be due to the stimulating effect of the saponins it contains on the gastric mucosa, which reflexively promotes the increase in bronchial secretions. The antitussive and expectorant effects of raw Polygala tenuifolia and its processed decoctions on mice were observed using ammonia-induced cough method and colorimetry. The results showed that raw Polygala, honey-processed Polygala, ginger-processed Polygala, and roasted (licorice-processed) Polygala had significant antitussive effects; the high-dose raw Polygala, low-dose honey Polygala, and high-dose roasted Polygala groups also had significant expectorant and antihypertensive effects.

3. Effect on central blood pressure reduction

Polygala decoction has a transient central hypotensive effect. Intravenous injection of 100% Polygala decoction of 0.125 g/kg in anesthetized dogs can reduce blood pressure to 60-70% of the original level. Intravenous injection of 0.5 g/kg in anesthetized rabbits can also reduce blood pressure to 40-50% of the original level. However, the effect is short-lived and can return to the original level within 1-2 minutes. No rapid tolerance phenomenon was observed after repeated administration.

4. Effects on smooth muscle and myocardium

In vivo and in vitro experiments show that Polygala tenuifolia has a strong uterine stimulating effect. The 100% injection solution prepared from the water decoction of Polygala tenuifolia after ethanol precipitation has a strong excitatory and contractile effect on the isolated non-pregnant uterus of rats and mice. Polygala fluid extract can cause strong contraction of the pregnant and non-pregnant uterus of guinea pigs, rabbits, cats and dogs in vitro and in situ, and increase muscle tension. 3-6 mL of 6.6% Polygala decoction injected intravenously also has a significant stimulating effect on the uterus of pregnant dogs.

5. Diuretic Effect

The suspension prepared by cold soaking and concentrating the root of Polygala tenuifolia in 50% methanol was orally administered at 200 mg/kg to rats with edema caused by ligation of both jugular veins. Its diuretic effect was 8.01, 1.11 ml/l00kg body weight, and the inhibition rate of congestive edema was 100%. Polygala tenuifolia saponins have the effects of eliminating edema and promoting diuresis. If used in combination with phenylbutazone, its diuretic effect will be enhanced.

6. Anti-oxidation and anti-aging effects

D-galactose induced aging mice were used to observe the effects of Polygala tenuifolia decoction on the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) in red blood cells (RBC) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) in liver tissue of aging mice. The results showed that the water decoction of Polygala tenuifolia could significantly increase the activity of SOD in RBC and GSH-Px in liver tissue of aged mice, indicating that the water decoction of Polygala tenuifolia had anti-aging effects on aged mice, and the optimal medication time was 30 days.

7. Anti-mutation and anti-cancer effects

The Amse experiment found that the water-soluble extract of Polygala tenuifolia had a significant inhibitory effect on the number of revertant colonies induced by Aspergillus flavus B1, and had a significant inhibitory effect on the number of revertant colonies of strain TA9, but had no inhibitory effect on the TAIo strain. This indicates that the water-soluble extract of Polygala tenuifolia only contains mutagenic factors that are resistant to alkali substitution.

8. Antibacterial Effect

The paper strip method showed that 10% Polygala decoction had an inhibitory effect on Pneumococcus, while Polygala ethanol extract had a significant inhibitory effect on Gram-positive bacteria and Shigella dysenteriae, Salmonella typhi and Mycobacterium tuberculosis in vitro.

9. Inhibit alcohol absorption and liver protection activity

The saponins in Polygala tenuifolia can inhibit the absorption of alcohol in the body to a certain extent.

10. Blood circulation and anti-inflammatory effects

The aqueous extract of Polygala root has a preventive and therapeutic effect on 2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid-induced colitis in mice, and has a significant improvement effect on the symptoms of polymorphonuclear leukocyte infiltration in the distal colon of colitis mice, erosive damage of the large intestine, colonic mucosal cystic abscesses and epithelial regeneration, and colon weight gain. It can also significantly reduce the levels of IFN-y and IL-4 in small intestinal epithelial lymphocytes. It is speculated that the preventive and therapeutic effect of Polygala root on colitis is at least partly attributed to its regulation of IFN-y and IL-4 production. In addition, the aqueous extract of Polygala root has a significant inhibitory effect on the secretion of tumor necrosis factor-a (TNF-a) and interleukin-1 (IL-1) by mouse astrocytes stimulated by substance P and lipopolysaccharide (LPS), thereby producing anti-inflammatory activity on the central nervous system.

11. Hemolysis

In vitro test tube hemolysis showed that Polygala tenuifolia has a strong hemolytic effect. The hemolytic index of the root bark is 3926, the whole root is 2585, the root woody core is 43, and the purified saponin is 34031. The study found that the component of the hemolytic effect is saponin, so the hemolytic effect of the root bark part which contains more saponins is much stronger than that of the root woody core part.

12. Other functions

In addition to the above effects, Polygala tenuifolia also has the effects of promoting small intestinal motility, inhibiting aldehyde-keto reductase, reducing cocaine-induced conditioned place preference, resisting vertigo, improving hearing loss caused by hydrops in the membranous labyrinth, and inhibiting 5-HT-induced diarrhea.

13. Toxic side effects

The results of the study showed that the LD50 of the extract from the root bark of Polygala tenuifolia was administrated orally to mice. The LD50 of the whole root of Polygala tenuifolia is 10.031 1.98 g/kg> that of the whole root of Polygala tenuifolia is 16.9512.01 g/kg, while the root wood core was used up to 75 g/kg without any mortality.

Through the above introduction, we have a good understanding of the effects and functions of Polygala tenuifolia. So when choosing it, we must also be careful not to use it indiscriminately, especially in the treatment of different diseases. There are some differences in its combination with other medicines, and the methods of use are also different. These all need to be paid attention to.