| Abstract: | Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F (TWH), commonly known as the Thunder-God-Vine, is a popular remedy for rheumatism in southern China. In this study, we investigated the effect of T2 (an extract from TWH) on adjuvant-induced paw oedema in rats and inflammatory mediators. The results showed that an intraperitoneal injection of T2 could significantly decrease the adjuvant-induced paw oedema of rats. During in vitro study, lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated human mononuclear prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) in the culture supernatant was significantly inhibited by T2 at a concentration of 2 μg/mL compared with the control group without T2 treatment (22352±4725 vs 43433±9014 pg/mL, p <0.05). When rat neutrophils were treated with 3 μg/mL of T2, the superoxide production was significantly lower than that of the group without T2 treatment (0.72±0.07 vs 1.37±0.04 nmol, p <0.05). T2 failed to suppress the β-glucuronidase release from rat neutrophils but when the concentration was 30 μg/mL, it expressed a significant inhibition of lysozyme release (20.7±2.9 vs 38.2±4.0 in the control, p <0.05). The findings suggest this Chinese herb, like non-steroid antiinflammatory drugs, expresses a potential antiinflammatory effect through its inhibition of PGE2 and superoxide function and lysozyme release. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
