Fig 1.
The subjects were examined after ≥2-hour fasting. After 15 min of rest, the first examination was performed. After 25 min, 5.0 g of TJ-100 and 50 ml of mineral water were administered orally followed by 25 min of rest by the subject, and then the secondary examination was performed. All participants underwent both DUS and PC-VIPR within 4 weeks, with a minimum interval of 1 week.
Fig 2.
Measurement of SMA blood flow by DUS.
Blood flow velocity was measured 3 cm from the origin of the SMA by pulsed DUS. The waves highlighted in light blue show four cardiac cycles (bottom).
Fig 3.
Measurement of SMA blood flow by 4D PC-VIPR.
(A) Abdominal blood vessels depicted by 4D PC-VIPR. Three-dimensional velocity data derived from 4D PC-VIPR was incorporated with the MRA morphology in a 3D vector field fashion. Flow velocity and FV can be measured at any location analyzed by using dedicated software. (B) Graph of the values obtained from the data. The shaded area indicates FV. (C) Flow velocity can be measured in all locations of the SMA by adding the blood flow velocity and direction as vector data using dedicated software. Disturbed non-laminar (i.e., vortex and/or helical) flow (arrow) can be shown by streamline analysis. The measurement was performed while avoiding the area of non-laminar flow.
Table 1.
Characteristics of the 20 healthy subjects in this study.
Fig 4.
Peak velocity and peak cross-sectionally averaged velocity of SMA.
(A) Comparison by actual measurement before and after oral administration in DUS (p = 0.003, Wilcoxon signed-rank test). (B) Comparison of measured values before and after oral administration in 4D PC-VIPR (p = 0.004, Wilcoxon signed-rank test).
Fig 5.
(A) Comparison by actual measurement before and after oral administration in DUS (p = 0.010, Wilcoxon signed-rank test). (B) Comparison by actual measurement before and after oral administration in 4D PC-VIPR test (p = 0.035, Wilcoxon signed-rank test). (C) The ratio of the SMA FV to the aorta, before and after oral administration on 4D PC-VIPR test (p = 0.015, Wilcoxon signed-rank test).
Fig 6.
Correlation between the rates of change on DUS and 4D PC-VIPR.
(A) Correlation between the rates of change on DUS and on 4D PC-VIPR at the peak velocity and peak cross-sectionally averaged velocity of the SMA (r = 0.650; p = 0.005, Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient). (B) Correlation between the rates of change on DUS and on 4D PC-VIPR in the blood FV of the SMA (r = 0.659; p = 0.004, Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient). Bland–Altman plots of the change rates before and after oral administration (post/pre) measured by 4D PC-VIPR and DUS for (C) the peak velocity and peak cross-sectionally averaged velocity and (D) blood FV. The y-axis shows the difference between the two measurements, and their mean is shown on the x-axis. The continuous line represents the bias; i.e., the mean of the differences, whereas the dotted lines indicate the limits of agreement (bias ± 2 SD).
Fig 7.
Structural formula of major components in TJ-100.
(A) shogaol. (B) hydroxy-sanshool. (C) ginsenoside.