title: Traditional Japanese formula kigikenchuto accelerates healing of pressure-loading skin ulcer in rats.
abstract: We evaluated the effect of kigikenchuto (KKT), a traditional Japanese formula, in a modified rat pressure-loading skin ulcer model. Rats were divided into three groups, KKT extract orally administered (250 or 500 mg/kg/day for 35 days) and control. KKT shortened the duration until healing. Immunohistochemically, KKT increased CD-31-positive vessels in early phase and increased α-smooth muscle actin-(α-SMA-) positive fibroblastic cells in early phase and decreased them in late phase of wound healing. By Western blotting, KKT showed the potential to decrease inflammatory cytokines (MCP-1, IL-1β, and TNF-α) in early phase, decrease vascular endothelial growth factor in early phase and increase it in late phase, and modulate the expression of extracellular protein matrix (α-SMA, TGF-β1, bFGF, collagen III, and collagen I). These results suggested the possibility that KKT accelerates pressure ulcer healing through decreases of inflammatory cytokines, increase of angiogenesis, and induction of extracellular matrix remodeling.
authors.affiliation: Department of Japanese Oriental Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Toyama, 2630 Sugitani, Toyama 930-0194, Japan.
authors.forename: Mari
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kimura
authors.forename: Naotoshi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shibahara
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hikiami
authors.forename: Toshiko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.forename: Michiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jo
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kaneko
authors.forename: Tatsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nogami
authors.forename: Makoto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fujimoto
authors.forename: Hirozo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Goto
authors.forename: Yutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shimada