中國醫藥大學全球資訊網校園新聞 China Medical University, Taiwan

減少糖分攝取可以預防與改善氣喘～本校中醫藥研究成果躍上國際期刊《免疫學》封面

日期：2022-05-23

資料來源：中醫藥研究中心

少糖攝取有助於預防與改善氣喘發作！中國醫藥大學中醫藥研究中心團隊新發現，來自中藥紫檀與天然植物藍莓的成分紫檀芪(Pterostilbene)，會減少過敏免疫細胞對糖分的攝取利用，抑制糖解代謝路徑與過敏免疫基因的組蛋白乙醯化，進一步減少發炎細胞激素與過敏免疫球蛋白的產生，可以預防或是改善氣喘發作。這項研究成果刊登在5月19日新出刊的國際知名科學期刊《免疫學》（Immunology），並獲選為期刊的封面文章。

這項研究成果由中國醫藥大學中醫學院顏宏融院長帶領的中西醫合作基礎與臨床團隊完成，研究團隊包括劉傳騰博士後研究員、宋瑛琪助理教授、吳采真碩士、及澳洲墨爾本大學大學生熊可杰、美國麻薩諸塞州布蘭迪斯大學大學生陳怡瑄，張東廸教授、胸腔內科梁信杰醫師與中醫學院顏宏融院長等人。

此為中央研究院李文華院士偕中國醫藥大學研究團隊發現“糖”是損傷胰臟的危險因子後，中醫藥研究團隊再度實証少糖攝取可以預防與改善氣喘，的確值得國人重視食品添加物多寡關乎身體健康。

中國醫藥大學副校長王陸海院士帶領的中醫藥研究中心為國內唯一受教育部補助的中醫藥特色研究中心，研究團隊成員中醫學院顏宏融院長表示，中醫的理論認為氣喘和「痰飲內伏」有關，中醫典籍《類證治裁》提到「糖哮」這個病名，《醫旨緒餘》也提到「飲食厚味…肺氣為之不利」，因此，他在門診常常提醒病患不要吃太多甜食。

顏宏融院長表示，研究團隊除了透過免疫細胞與氣喘動物實驗，並與中醫大附設醫院中西醫結合科及胸腔內科合作，在氣喘病患的周邊血液過敏免疫細胞發現紫檀芪具有顯著的抑制過敏免疫的作用；此次研究證實，中藥與天然植物成分可以調控過敏免疫細胞的糖分利用，改變免疫代謝路徑，減少過敏基因的表觀遺傳表現，大幅度地改善預防或是改善氣喘發作，而且這個作用機轉和西藥類固醇截然不同。

值得一提的是，熊可杰與陳怡瑄兩位同學分別是澳洲墨爾本大學與美國麻薩諸塞州布蘭迪斯大學的學生，在新冠肺炎疫情期間，在台灣中國醫藥大學的實驗室一起參與這項實驗；疫情舒緩時，他們各自返回澳洲與美國時愉悅的表示，在台灣的研究學習經驗，讓他們能夠認識到台灣的研究環境與量能，特別是中國醫藥大學的研究結合中西醫觀點，對於他們獲取中醫藥新知識具有特別的啟發意義。

“Reducing sugar intake could prevent and control asthma attacks”—China Medical University's research was selected as the “Featured Cover” of the international journal "Immunology"

Lowering sugar intake can help prevent and control asthma attacks. A research team from the Chinese Medicine Research Center of China Medical University (CMU) has newly discovered that pterostilbene, a component from Chinese herb Pterocarpus indicus Wild and the natural plant blueberry, preventively and therapeutically attenuates asthma attacks through an immune-metabolic mechanism. Pterostilbene can reduce the entry of glucose, inhibit the glycolysis metabolic pathway and histone acetylation of type 2 helper T cells as well as decrease the inflammatory cytokines and allergy-related immunoglobulin. This research was published in the internationally renowned scientific journal "Immunology" on May 19, and was selected as the “Featured Cover”.

This work was done by a basic and clinical team of Chinese and Western medicine cooperation led by Prof. Hung-Rong Yan, Dean of College of Chinese Medicine at CMU. The research team members include Dr. Chuan-Teng Liu, Assistant Prof. Ying-Chyi Song, Ms. Tsai-Chen Wu, Mr. Ko-Chieh Shiung, Ms. I-Hsuan Chen, Prof. Tung-Ti Chang, Dr. Shinn-Jye Liang and Prof. Hung-Rong Yen.

Following the finding that sugar is a risk factor for pancreatic damage, as revealed by Academician Chair Professor Wen-Hwa Lee and the research team at China Medical University, the Chinese medicine research team once again confirmed that lowering sugar intake could prevent and improve asthma, drawing attention to the importance of dietary intervention in maintaining health.

The Chinese Medicine Research Center led by Academician Chair Professor Lu-Hai Wang, Vice President of China Medical University, is the only Chinese medicine research center supported by the Ministry of Education in Taiwan. As a member of the research center, Dean Hung-Rong Yen said that the theory of traditional Chinese medicine believes that asthma is related to "plegm-rheum (痰飲內伏)". The TCM classics "Lei Zheng Zhi Cai (類證治裁)" mentioned asthma related to sweets— "sugar asthma (糖哮)", and "Yi Zhi Xu Yu (醫旨緒餘)" also mentioned "sweet and thick diet…hamper the dynamics of lung qi(飲食厚味…肺氣為之不利)". Therefore, he often reminds patients not to eat too many sweets in the clinic.

Dean Hung-Rong Yen said that the team not only conducted experiments on immune cells and asthmatic animal models, but also cooperated with clinicians in the Department of Integration of Chinese-Western Medicine and Department of Pulmonary Medicine in China Medical University Hospital. Pterostilbene was found to significantly inhibit allergic responses in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of asthma patients. This study confirmed that traditional Chinese medicine and natural plant components can regulate sugar utilization by immune cells involved in allergies, change the immune metabolic pathway, modify epigenetic changes of allergy-related genes, and greatly prevent or improve asthma attacks, through a mechanism that is very different from the western medicine, steroids.

It is worth mentioning that Ko-Chieh Shiung and I-Hsuan Chen are two students from the University of Melbourne in Australia and the Brandeis University in the United States. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they took part in this project in the laboratory of China Medical University in Taiwan. When the pandemic toned down, they returned to Australia and the United States with much joy. Both of them said that their research and study experience in Taiwan allowed them to understand the research environment and capacity in Taiwan, especially research conducted by China Medical University, which combines perspectives from both traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine. Their acquisition of knowledge on traditional Chinese medicine is particularly enlightening.

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