Assessment of efficacy of Kampo medicines on Ulcerative colitis

据报道，草药化合物Orengedokuto（OGT）及其草药成分之一黄芪（S-r）能够抑制DSS诱导的小鼠结肠炎（DSS结肠炎）中的炎症。然而，还没有研究任何其他汉方药物在该模型中可能具有直接抗炎活性的作用。目前还没有关于汉方药物的作用的信息，这些药物的配方中没有一种特定的草药。在我们分析各种汉方制剂治疗DSS结肠炎的有效性时，我们观察到结肠缩短和髓过氧化物酶活性降低的抑制作用，我们认为这是由于Saireito（SRT）的抗炎活性。接下来，我们研究了SRT的两种组分Shosaikoto（SST）和Goreisan（GRS）的抗炎活性。SST和GRS单独在该模型中均未显示抗炎活性，表明这两种化合物的组合对于SRT的抗炎活性是必需的。最后，我们研究了在从配方中去除特定草药后，SRT是否保留了其抗炎特性。从制剂中去除S-r后，SRT的抗炎活性仍然存在。或者，缺乏柴胡（B-r）的SRT没有保留任何抗炎活性。这些结果表明，SRT对DSS结肠炎的抗炎活性取决于B-r的包含或B-r与其他草药之间的组合。

It has been reported that the herbal compound, Orengedokuto (OGT), as well as one of its herbal components, a Scutellariae radix(S-r), was able to suppress inflammation in a DSS-induced murine colitis (DSS colitis). However, there have been no studies of the effects of any other Kampo medicines that may have direct anti-inflammatory activity in this model. There is no available information regarding the effects of Kampo medicines that have been formulated with omission of a single specific herb. In our analysis of the effectiveness of various Kampo formulations in the treatment of DSS colitis, we observed suppression of the shortening of the colon and a decrease in Myeloperoxidase activity, which we believe to be due to the anti-inflammatory activity of Saireito (SRT). We next investigated the anti-inflammatory activity of Shosaikoto (SST) and Goreisan (GRS), which are the two components of SRT. Neither SST nor GRS alone showed anti-inflammatory activity in this model, indicating that the combination of these two compounds is necessary for the anti-inflammatory activity of SRT. Finally, we examined whether SRT retained its anti-inflammatory properties after specific herbs were eliminated from the formulation. The anti-inflammatory activity of SRT was still present after removal of S-r from the formulation. Alternatively, SRT that lacked Bupleuri radix (B-r) did not retain any anti-inflammatory activity. These results imply that the anti-inflammatory activity of SRT on DSS colitis is dependent on the inclusion of B-r or the combination between B-r and other herbs.