[Inhibiting cyclooxygenase and 5-lipoxygenase activities is an anti-inflammatory mechanism of Huzhang Gout Granule].
OBJECTIVE
To observe the effects of Huzhang Gout Granule (HZGG), a compound traditional Chinese herbal medicine, on cyclooxygenase (COX) and 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX) activities, the two important oxidases in the course of inflammation, so as to investigate the possible anti-inflammatory mechanism of HZGG.


METHODS
After stimulating the blood sample of healthy volunteer with calcium ionophore A23187, concentration of thromboxane B(2) (TXB(2)) in the healthy volunteer's blood was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to observe the effects of HZGG at low- and high-dose on the activity of COX-1, with aspirin as control drug. The concentration of prostaglandin I(2) (PGI(2)) in the healthy volunteer's blood sample, in which aspirin was added to destroy activity of COX-1 beforehand and which was stimulated with lipopolysaccharide, was detected by ELISA method to observe the effects of HZGG on the activity of COX-2, with celecoxib as control drug. In the animal experiment, 40 rats were implanted with sponges soaking in 0.5% arachidonic acid solution in the back to induce inflammatory effusion. Content of leukotriene B4 (LTB4) in the polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) from the inflammatory effusions was detected with reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) to observe the impacts of different doses of HZGG on the activity of 5-LOX, with dexamethasone as control drug.


RESULTS
The concentration of TXB(2) in the low-dose HZGG group was higher than those in the high-dose HZGG group and the aspirin group (P<0.05). The concentrations of PGI2 in the low- and high-dose HZGG groups were higher than that in the celecoxib group (P<0.05), but there was no significant difference between the low-dose HZGG group and the high-dose HZGG group (P>0.05). The content of LTB4 in the blank control group was higher than those in the low-dose HZGG group, the high-dose HZGG group or the dexamethasone group (P<0.05)


CONCLUSIONS
HZGG can reduce the releasing of inflammatory mediators, such as TXB2, PGI2 and LTB4, by inhibiting the activities of COX and 5-LOX.
Wang
Yi-fei
YF
Gout Clinic, Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 200437, China.
Wu
Wen-jing
WJ
Zhang
Ming
M
Zhou
Min
M
Li
Bin
B
D000818:Animals; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001094:Arachidonate 5-Lipoxygenase / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D051545:Cyclooxygenase 1 / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006073:Gout; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000188:drug therapy; D051381:Rats
D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; D001094:Arachidonate 5-Lipoxygenase; D051545:Cyclooxygenase 1; C496511:PTGS1 protein, human; C583212:ALOX5 protein, human