title: Effects of escin on acute inflammation and the immune system in mice.
abstract: Escin has been used extensively to treat chronic venous insufficiency, hemorrhoids, and edema resulting from cerebral ischemic damage, trauma or operation. However, no studies have looked at the anti-inflammatory properties of escin administered by intravenous injection, and it is still not clear whether escin has an effect on the immune system. This study seeks to investigate the time-dependent anti-inflammatory properties of escin and its effect on the immune system. The anti-inflammatory effect of escin was observed in carrageenan-induced paw edema and acetic acid-induced capillary permeability in mice. The immunopharmacological effects of escin were evaluated by spleen index (SI), thymus index (TI), proliferative capacity of splenocytes (PS), lymphocyte count (LC), serum TNF-alpha levels, and phagocytic rate (PR) in mice. Escin treatment showed a significant anti-inflammatory effect, similar to that seen with dexamethasone treatment. However, the duration of the anti-inflammatory response was longer with escin treatment than with dexamethasone treatment. The results also demonstrated that escin had no significant effects on SI, TI, LC, PS, TNF-alpha levels, and PR. The findings suggest that escin is a potent anti-inflammatory drug with long-lasting anti-inflammatory effects and without any immunosuppressive effects.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Yantai University, 32 Qingquan Road, Yantai 264005, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Tian
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Fenghua
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.forename: Leiming
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Mei
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Xiumei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000818:Animals; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D004487:Edema / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D004928:Escin / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018836:Inflammation Mediators / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D009504:Neutrophils / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology*; D010587:Phagocytosis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D018836:Inflammation Mediators; D004928:Escin