The hwangjeong-administered group suppressed ERα in the endometrium and only increased the expression of ERβ, showing a therapeutic effect close to that of the normal group, and at the same time inhibiting endometrial hyperplasia.Menopause (menopause) refers to the period when female hormones gradually decrease so that menstruation stops and the ability to conceive is permanently stopped.
It is characterized by rapid changes in hormones in the body, accompanied by physical and psychological changes. Physically, symptoms such as hot flashes, forgetfulness, and sweating appear in the early stages, and mentally, people experience difficulties such as feeling depressed and anxious.
In particular, if menopausal symptoms are left unattended for a long time, it is important to receive appropriate treatment at an early stage as it can lead to osteoporosis, obesity, and cardiovascular disease. As a general treatment, supplemental therapy with synthetic estrogen (E2) is used. However, there are reports that it causes side effects such as endometrial cancer and breast cancer, so research on treatments with fewer side effects is being actively conducted.
Under this circumstance, JS trogen’s main herbal medicine ‘Hwangjeong (stratified hookworm)’, which is mainly prescribed at Jaseng Oriental Hospital for the treatment of menopause, is attracting attention as its safety and effectiveness have been proven through research papers.
A research team led by Park Doo-ri, a senior researcher at Jaseng Oriental Hospital Spine and Joint Research Institute (Director In-hyuk Ha) announced on the 27th that they confirmed the mechanism and safety of Hwangjeong’s menopausal treatment through animal experiments. The research paper was published in the July issue of ‘Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy (IF=7.419)’, an SCI(E)-level journal.
The research team reproduced the environment in which female hormones decreased, such as menopause, through ovariectomy in experimental mice. Then, the effects of menopausal treatment were analyzed by dividing the rats into a group administered with sulfur tablets and a group administered with synthetic estrogen. For each group, sulfur extract and synthetic estrogen were administered orally for 6 weeks, respectively. In the case of sulfur extract, three concentrations (100, 200, and 400 mg/kg) were treated to examine the change according to the concentration.
First, the research team analyzed the degree of vaginal thickness recovery. For the study, following staining of vaginal epidermal cells and cross section, the expression levels of ‘estrogen receptor alpha (ERα)’ and ‘estrogen receptor beta (ERβ)’, which help female hormones to express and function, were observed. The higher the expression of ERα and ERβ in the vaginal tissue, the more the vaginal epidermal thickness recovery is accelerated, which plays a role in suppressing vaginal dryness.
The Hwangjeong-administered group showed the highest ERβ expression and showed an excellent effect of restoring the epidermal thickness. In addition, Hwangjeong was confirmed as a menopause treatment without side effects by inhibiting ‘Fibroblast growth factor (Fgf)2’ and ‘Fgf9’, which are major factors affecting ERα and endometrial hyperplasia.
On the other hand, it was analyzed that the expression level of ERα in the endometrium of the synthetic estrogen-administered group was significantly higher than that of the normal group and the hwangjeong-treated group. However, there is a problem that an increase in ERα expression level has a high risk of leading to side effects such as endometrial hyperplasia. Accordingly, the research team interpreted that the treatment safety of the hwangjeong-administered group was higher than that of the synthetic estrogen-administered group.
In addition, the research team conducted experiments such as computed tomography (CT) imaging of the leg bones, weight and cholesterol measurement, and blood serotonin hormone measurement for each treatment group. As a result of the experiment, the body weight of the hwangjeong-treated group was lower, and the CT of the leg bones and several bone mass-related values showed a bone protective effect. As such, it has been shown that Hwangjeong is effective in reducing not only vaginal dryness, but also osteoporosis, obesity, and depression.
Doo-ri Park, senior researcher at Jaseng Oriental Hospital Spine and Joint Research Institute, said, “This paper is meaningful in that it demonstrated the menopausal improvement effect and mechanism of Hwangjeong, the main herbal medicine of JS trogen. As much as possible, it is expected that it will be usefully utilized for the use of therapeutics and the development of related health functional foods.”
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