Cuscutae Semen ameliorates mepanipyrim-induced visual impairment in zebrafish via the phototransduction pathway with identification of potential active constituents

Visual impairment is an increasingly pressing global public health challenge, with its prevalence and severity exacerbated by demographic aging, the rising burden of chronic diseases, and various environmental factors. According to recent epidemiological data from the World Health Organization, approximately 2.2 billion people worldwide are affected by some form of visual impairment, with nearly half of these cases (~1 billion) considered preventable or manageable through timely intervention. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is one of the oldest continuously practiced medical systems in the world and has made significant contributions to global health care. Cuscutae Semen (CS), a tonic herb in TCM, has long been esteemed for its vision-protective and restorative properties. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the vision-protective effects of CS, as well as its specific active components, remain largely unexplored.

This research is led by Professor Lanping Guo (State Key Laboratory for Quality Ensurance and Sustainable Use of Dao-di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China). Guo’s team innovatively introduced the zebrafish model into the study of traditional Chinese medicine for vision protection. Using Cuscutae Semen (CS) as the research subject, their work bridges the gap between the traditional application of herbal medicine and modern molecular mechanisms. The objective is to investigate the restorative effects of CS on visual impairment, elucidate its underlying mechanisms, and identify potential active components. This study demonstrated that CS effectively rescued mepanipyrim-induced visual impairment in zebrafish by restoring retinal structure and function through modulation of the phototransduction pathway, with chlorogenic acid identified as a key bioactive constituent.

Unlike traditional visual impairment models based on rats or mice—which involve long experimental cycles and difficulties in ocular morphological observation—this study leveraged an innovative in vivo zebrafish platform to efficiently and comprehensively evaluate the protective effects of CS on visual impairment, thereby providing key experimental evidence for the development of related vision-protective agents. These findings not only bridge traditional herbal medicine with modern mechanistic pharmacology but also offer novel therapeutic strategies for visual disorders induced by environmental toxicants.

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Cuscutae Semen ameliorates mepanipyrim-induced visual impairment in zebrafish via the phototransduction pathway with identification of potential active constituents

https://journals.lww.com/stcm/fulltext/2025/12000/cuscutae_semen_ameliorates_mepanipyrim_induced.4.aspx