Abstract:

BACKGROUND: It has been confirmed that xibijuan soup received notable effectiveness in treating traumatic synovitis, however, most of Precious studies are focused on clinical outcomes.
OBJECTIVE: To understand the effects of xibijuan soup on interleukin 1 and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) levels in knee synovial fluid of rabbit with traumatic synovitis, and to explore its molecular mechanism.
METHODS: Totally of 12 rabbits were randomly divided into model group (limbs) and the traditional Chinese medicine group. The healthy limbs of the model group were served as control group (limb). A total of 18 joints were included. Animals were prepared for models of knee joint synovial damage by stimulating knee joint to redundantly perform single flexion and extension movements. The expression of interleukin 1β and TNF-α in rabbit knee joint fluid was detected by ELISA method. 
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The levels of interleukin 1β and TNF-α in the model group were greater than those in the control group (P < 0.05). The levels of interleukin 1β and TNF-α were smaller in the traditional Chinese medicine group compared with the model group (P < 0.05). All results revealed that, the pathological process of knee traumatic synovitis is closely associated with levels of inflammatory cytokines IL-1β and TNF-α. The traditional Chinese medicine xibijuan soup can effectively inhibit the inflammatory cytokines, which revealed the therapeutic mechanism of traditional Chinese medicine on traumatic synovitis at the molecular level.