The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of sihuangxiechai decoction on asthmatic Guinea pig model which was sensitized by intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of ovalbumin (OVA) and challenged by OVA inhalation to induce chronic airway inflammation. Differential cell counts of cytospins were performed after staining with Giemsa solution. The quantity of leukocytes and its classification in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and blood were evaluated by blood cell analyzer and microscope. Histological analysis of the lung was performed by hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining. The levels of interleukin-4 (IL-4) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) in BALF and serum were detected by radioimmunoassay (RIA). The total number of leukocytes in BALF and blood has no significant difference between Sihuangxiechaitang decoction treated group and dexamethasone (DXM) treated group but was significantly lower than those of asthma group. The percentage of eosinophils in lung tissues of sihuangxiechai decoction treated group was significantly lower than that of asthma group. The results demonstrated that the levels of IL-4 and TNF-α in the sihuangxiechai decoction treated group were significantly reduced compared with the asthma group. In conclusion, these findings demonstrate that sihuangxiechai decoction has a protective effect on OVA-induced asthma in reducing airway inflammation and airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) in a Guinea pig model and may be useful as an adjuvant therapy for the treatment of bronchial asthma.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the biocompatibility and degradation behavior of theophylline/chitosan microspheres, which has the potential application in pulmonary delivery system. Hemolysis test was carried out to estimate its blood toxicity. In vitro enzymatic hydrolysis was performed in 0.2 mg/ml lysozyme solution, while in vitro hydrolysis degradation was in 0.2 mol/L PBS solution (pH 7.4). The results of hemolysis test showed that the hemolysis rate was 4.771%, which showed that theophylline/chitosan microspheres had no hemolysis. The degradation rate of enzymatic hydrolysis and PBS hydrolysis was 62.66±2.1% and 37.79±1.2%, which indicates that degradation in lysozyme solution is faster than that in PBS solution. The morphology of microspheres with lysozyme and PBS solution developed into rough surfaces and became irregularly shaped. Accordingly, theophylline/chitosan microspheres possess preferable biocompability and degradation, which have promising potential for use as safe carrier in pulmonary drug delivery systems.
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