Abstract

Blood harmonizing Leonurus japonicus Houtt. (Motherwort), blood activating Boswellia carterii Birdw. (Frankincense), and blood breaking and stasis expelling Whitmania pigra Whitman (Hirudo), which all belong to traditional medicines of activating blood and resolving stasis (ABARS), have been used in the treatment of tumors and tumor metastasis for years. However, their eventual efficacies have never been clearly investigated. This paper described and compared the effects of the water extracts of Hirudo, Frankincenseand Motherwort on human platelet functions including platelet aggregation and protein secretion. It has been demonstrated that Hirudo for “break blood and expel stasis”extremely suppressed platelet activation and adhesion, but Motherwort for “Harmonize the Blood” did not exhibit the same effects on CD41 and CD62p levels, implying that the platelet inhibiting potency of the ABARS drug for “break blood and expel stasis” was indeed stronger than that for “Harmonize the Blood”. The results promoted us to choose a different drug on the basis of the P-selectin level of patients, which will assist clinicians to select drugs rationally.

Key words: Hirudo, Motherwort, Frankincense, platelet aggregation, CD41, CD62p.

Abbreviation

ADP, Adenosine 5’-diphosphate; PAF, platelet activating factor; PRP,platelet-rich plasma; PPP, platelet-poor plasma; TCM, traditional Chinese medicine;ABARS, activating blood and resolving stasis.