In China, rhubarb has been mainly processed with liquor or by steaming to increase its medicinal effects or decrease its side effects. The modern Chinese Pharmacopoeia describes frying rhubarb after spraying with liquor as shu-daiou and steaming rhubarb after spraying with liquor as jyuku-daiou; however pharmacologic significance of processing has not been elucidated. In this article, the author examines jyuku-daiou and shu-daiou in herbological and chemical studies.
As for jyuku-daiou, in herbological study, the rhubarb which used as a remedy against poison was not steamed after liquor processed one but simply steamed one. However in chemical study, the rhubarb which soaked in a sufficient amount of liquor before being steamed expects to be used as a remedy against poison. In addition, the rhubarb is considered to have a decreased purgative effect.
Then as for shu-daiou, frying rhubarb after processed with liquor has been used to improve blood stasis since the Jin and Yuan Dynasties in China. The rhubarb with the effect should be processed as follows; sprayed with liquor before being heated.

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Accumulating evidence has revealed the biological function of lipids in the maintenance of immunological homeostasis as well as the development of immune diseases. Among immunologically functional lipids, sphingosine1-phosphate (S1P) is well-known to regulate cell trafficking in various immunological circumstances. Numerous immunological functions of S1P have been revealed using an immunosuppressant, FTY720 (fingolimod) which is Isaria sinclairii-derived S1P agonist and is currently approved for the treatment of multiple sclerosis. In this review, we show our findings on S1P-mediated immune regulation in the intestine and possible strategy for the control of intestinal immune and infectious diseases using herbal medicine.

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In Japan, dried ginger is called shokyo, and ginger dried after soaked in hot water or steamed is called kankyo. The quality of processed ginger might be affected by the processing methods. Previously, we reported that the heating method used to process fresh ginger affected the color of the resultant product and how its color was correlated with its 6-shogaol to 6-gingerol ratio ([S/G]); i.e., the a* value (indicating redness) of steamed ginger positively correlated with its [S/G], the a* value of ginger soaked in hot water remained constant regardless of its [S/G], and the a* value of ginger heated at 180°C displayed a logarithmic correlation with [S/G]. In this paper, we used the above results to evaluate the quality of shokyo and kankyo products on the market.
As a result, we found that the a* values of most shokyo products logarithmically correlated with their [S/G]. However, shokyo products with whitish surfaces displayed a* values of less than + 2, and their a* values and [S/G] showed no correlations.
Meanwhile, kankyo products were divided into 3 groups by the relationships between the a* values and [S/G]; i.e., samples whose a* values correlated with their [S/G], those with a* values around + 9, and those with a* values less than + 8. These kankyo samples might be produced by steaming, soaking in hot water, and soaking in warm water, respectively. Therefore, we confirmed that the combination of color values and [S/G] could be used to infer processing methods of ginger products.

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Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of hangekobokuto in chronic tinnitus.
Study design: This study was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial compared hangekobokuto to placebo in chronic tinnitus patients.
Setting/location: This study was conducted at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology of Kitasato University Hospital/Japan.
Subjects: Participants were adults, with chronic ( ≥ 3 months), mild to severe handicap (Tinnitus Handicap Inventory [THI] score ≥ 18).
Interventions: Seventy-six patients were randomized to receive either hangekobokuto or placebo.
Outcome measures: Change in THI score from baseline to final follow-up visit was the primary efficacy measure. Changes in Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and Short-Form 36-Items Health Survey (SF-36) scores were secondary efficacy measures. We also conducted 3 ancillary analyses.
Results: No significant intergroup differences were noted in THI (Total: p = 0.73, Functional: p = 0.99, Emotional: p = 0.78, Catastrophic: p = 0.59), or any secondary endpoints. In patients without apparent anxiety or depression, no significant intergroup differences were noted in THI. In patients with vertigo/dizziness, hangekobokuto tended to improve THI (Total: p = 0.006) as compared to the placebo. In patients with hangekobokuto "sho", no significant intergroup differences were noted in THI.
Conclusion: Although no significant intergroup difference was observed, hangekobokuto tended to improve THI in patients with vertigo/dizziness. Identifying a more definitive indicator for prescribing Kampo medicine and a study design which reflects characteristics of Kampo medicine may lead to a more informative evaluation of its benefit.

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Obesity has become an urgent worldwide public health problem.
The aim of this study is to provide a simple and beneficial anti-obesity supplement by mixing a new material, Forsythia leaf extract along with Citrus extract, Gardenia fruit extract and Glycyrrhiza extract.
In Experiment 1, the anti-obesity effect of the mixture of herbal extracts (MHE) was investigated in rats fed a normal diet (ND) or a high-fat diet (HFD) with MHE for 10 weeks.
Under ND conditions, MHE group exhibited significant decreases in perirenal white adipose tissue (WATp) and epidymal white adipose tissue weights (WATe). A significant dose-dependent decrease in plasma triglyceride level was observed in the MHE group as compared with the ND-control group.
Under HFD conditions, MHE group exhibited significant decreases in body, WATp and WATe weights. The significant decreases in plasma triglyceride, glucose and insulin levels and the marked increase in plasma adiponectin level were observed in the MHE group as compared with the HFD-control group. These anti-obesity effects of MHE were similar to those of bofutsushosan (BOFU) in the previous reports conducted with BOFU.
In Experiment 2, the gene expressions in the liver and adipose tissues by the administration of MHE in rats fed a HFD for 4 weeks were examined by real-time PCR on the comparison with those of BOFU. The gene expressions of MHE were similar to those of BOFU.
MHE showed the anti-obesity effect corresponding to the effect of BOFU. Therefore, MHE might be a simple and beneficial health supplement for preventing diet-induced obesity.

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