Medicinal Plant Research 2025, Vol.15, No.5, 214-223 http://hortherbpublisher.com/index.php/mpr 219 signaling and the enhancement of cellular antioxidant capacity, supporting the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant functions of A. sinensis in in vitro experiments (Zou et al., 2022; Wen et al., 2025). 6.2 Animal model research Although the direct evidence in myocardial ischemia-reperfusion models is limited, relevant animal studies have shown that, A. sinensis components can protect against tissue damage by reducing oxidative stress and inflammation, and regulating key survival pathways, like PI3K/AKT (Niu et al., 2023; Lu and Wang, 2025). Taking the bone marrow suppression, caused by the chemotherapy drug 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) by ASP as the entry point, Niu et al. (2023) explored its protective effect on perivascular mesenchymal progenitor cells (PMPs) and hematopoietic cells. The results showed that, 5-FU could induce oxidative damage in PMPs, making them prone to adipogenic differentiation, inhibiting osteogenic ability, and reducing the expression of key hematopoietic factors (CXCL12, SCF, Ang-1/Tie2, TPO/MPL, etc.), and adhesion molecules (VCAM-1/VLA-4, ICAM-1/LFA-1). Ultimately, it leads to premature aging of hematopoietic cells. ASP can effectively reverse this process, increase the level of superoxide dismutase (SOD), and reduce the content of lipid peroxidation products (MDA), thereby improving the microenvironmental function of PMPs. Research has found that, ASP not only directly enhances the antioxidant capacity of PMPs, but provides a healthy microenvironment for hematopoietic cells by improving intercellular signal transduction and adhesion. Meanwhile, ASP can inhibit the excessive activation of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway, induced by 5-FU, down-regulate the expression of aging-related proteins, such as P53, P21 and Cyclin-D1, and delay the stress-induced premature aging of hematopoietic cells (Figure 2). Animal experiments have also shown that, ASP and other extracts can improve hematopoietic function, reduce oxidative burden, and regulate cytokine levels in blood deficiency and tissue injury models (Li et al., 2015; Tian et al., 2024). Figure 2 Mechanism of Angelica sinensis polysaccharides (ASP) retarding the premature senescence of hematopoietic cells caused by 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) via maintaining niche function of perivascular mesenchymal progenitor cells (Adopted from Niu et al., 2023) 6.3 Pharmacological effects and dose dependence Comparative studies have found that, different ASP grades and active ingredients, like ferulic acid, phthallactone dimer, show differences in anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and hematopoietic activities (Zou et al., 2022; Lu and Wang, 2025; Tian et al., 2024; Wen et al., 2025). For instance, ASP-H2O showed the strongest blood-nourishing activity, while the effects of other grades were different (Tian et al., 2024). Dose and time dependencies, have been observed in both cell and animal studies. Higher doses and longer courses of treatment of ASP, or its extracts usually more significantly upregulate antioxidant enzyme activity, inhibit inflammatory markers, and improve functional outcomes (Li et al., 2015; Zhou et al., 2015; Tian et al., 2024). However, the optimal doses for different components and models vary, which suggests that personalized treatment strategies need to be formulated, based on specific circumstances.
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