title: Use of glycyrrhizin in prevention of tissue damage caused by ischemia-reperfusion in rabbit hind limbs.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Glycyrrhizin, an agent that can bind to selectins and inhibit their ability to bind neutrophils, was found to be effective in preventing tissue edema caused by ischemia-reperfusion in a rabbit model.
  
  
  METHODS
  Complete ischemia was produced by applying a tight Esmarch tourniquet to the hind limbs of 24 Japanese white rabbits. Immediately before and 1 h after release of the tourniquet, 12 animals were given glycyrrhizin intravenously; 12 controls received saline.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean relative increase in the circumference of the shins before and after ischemia-reperfusion with or without glycyrrhizin treatment was 4.6% +/- 2.4% and 9.6% +/- 4.2%, respectively, indicating that tissue edema caused by the ischemia-reperfusion was significantly attenuated by glycyrrhizin. Histological studies of cross sections of the anterior tibial muscle 24 h after reperfusion showed a significant reduction in the incidence of necrotic muscle fibers in the glycyrrhizin-treated animals compared with the controls that did not receive glycyrrhizin. The mRNA levels of P- and E-selectin 24 h after reperfusion were significantly higher in the ischemic anterior tibial muscle than in the nonischemic normal muscle. After 24 h of reperfusion, the mean activity of myeloperoxidase, a neutrophil-specific enzyme, in the anterior tibial muscles of the group given glycyrrhizin (0.0022 +/- 0.0013 absorbance units) was lower than that of the untreated group (0.027 +/- 0.026 absorbance units).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These data suggest that glycyrrhizin treatment is effective in suppressing the acute inflammatory reaction or edema following ischemia-reperfusion and might be potentially useful in clinical practice for preventing ischemia-reperfusion injuries to the extremities.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Osaka City University Medical School, 1-5-7 Asahimachi, Abeno-ku, Osaka 545-0051, Japan.
authors.forename: Nobuaki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nakata
authors.forename: Kunio
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takaoka
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002196:Capillaries / Q000378:metabolism; D004487:Edema / Q000517:prevention & control; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000378:metabolism; D019695:Glycyrrhizic Acid / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006614:Hindlimb; D009195:Peroxidase / Q000378:metabolism; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D011817:Rabbits; D015427:Reperfusion Injury / Q000473:pathology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D019087:Selectins / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D019087:Selectins; D019695:Glycyrrhizic Acid; D009195:Peroxidase