Effects of Sho-Saiko-to on Cytokine Cascade and Arachidonic Acid Cascade

Abstract

The traditional Chinese medicine Sho-saiko-to (Xiao-Chai-Hu-Tang) is prepared from the herbs Bupleuri radix, Pinelliae tuber, Scutellariae radix, Zizyphifractus, Ginseng radix, Glycyrrhizae radix and Zingiberis rhizoma, and has been used for the treatment of chronic hepatitis. There is accumulating evidence suggesting that Sho-saiko-to has a protective effect on biological membranes in addition to having an anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic effect (1, 2). However, most of the active substances contained in this medicine and their mechanisms of action await elucidation, except for certain saponin compounds and glycyrrhizin, the pharmacological effects of which have been studied in some detail. We previously demonstrated that Sho-saiko-to protects liver cells against experimentally-induced cell damage and suggested that this may be due at least in part to the action of saikosaponin on the liver cell membrane (3). In this report, we present the results of a multicenter open study of Sho-saiko-to on 80 patients with HBe-antigen (Ag)-positive chronic hepatitis. In order to assess the effects of the medicine on these hepatitis patients, we examined the HBe virus-related antigen and antibody levels and laboratory parameters of hepatic function. We also studied the effects of Sho-saiko-to on immune responses and arachidonic acid cascade.