[Anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic effects of acidic fraction of Pheratima extract in asthma mice induced by ovalbumin].

Objective: To explore the effects of acidic fraction of Pheratima extract in an ovalbumin(OVA) induced asthma mouse model,and to provide the experimental evidences for the anti-asthmatic application of Pheratima extract with further purification and development.Method: Mice model of allergic asthma was established through the OVA challenge.To investigate the inflammatory cell level and Th1/Th2 levels as well as the therapeutic effects of acidic fraction from Pheratima extract,cell count of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid(BALF) was performed to evaluate the secretion of eosinophils(EOS) cells,and IgE,IL-4,IL-5,IL-13,IFN-γ levels were detected by ELISA.Result: Compared with control group,the EOS count of BALF in the model group was remarkably increased(P0.01),and IgE,IL-4,IL-5,IL-13 levels were also increased(P0.01),while IFN-γ decreased(P0.01).Acidic fraction from Pheratima(S) extract and its 30% ethanol washed fraction(S30) significantly inhibited the increase of EOS count(P0.01),decreased the IgE,IL-4,IL-5,IL-13 levels(P0.05),and inhibited the decrease of IFN-γ level(P0.01).Conclusion: The results indicate that inhibition of the EOS secretion and balancing of the altered Th1/Th2 levels may be important mechanisms of Pheratima's therapeutic effect in asthmatic mice model,and S30 is pharmacologically effective as evaluated with the above mentioned parameters,as a representative fraction of the Pheratima extract.