Abstract:

BACKGROUND: The self-prescribed Tongbi decoction is an empirical formula that has been observed in clinic for many years by Prof. Yu Jian-ping, and it is applied to treat dampness-heat blockage syndrome of rheumatoid arthritis.
OBJECTIVE: To verify the inhibitory effect of self-prescribed Tongbi decoction on the hind paw swelling in adjuvant-induced arthritis (AIA) rats, and its regulative effect on autoantibody IgG, T cell subgroups, interleukin 1β and tumor necrosis factor α, as well as its therapeutic role on ankle pathological injuries.
METHODS: Wistar rats were divided into six groups. An AIA rat model with collagen Ⅱ was established in all groups except for the normal control group. The rats of the model group were injected an equal volume of distilled water as the high-dose administration group; rats of the control group were given 5.0 mg/kg prednisone; rats in the high-dose, moderate-dose and low-dose administration groups were treated with 11.6, 5.8 and 2.9 g/kg self-prescribed Tongbi decoction, respectively. The rats in the normal control group were injected 0.1 mL normal saline into the rear toe of rats. After 1 week, all rats received a booster injection with the same dose on the tails. After modeled for 2 weeks, the rats were given intragastric administration, once a day for 2 weeks.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The self-prescribed Tongbi decoction has a significant inhibitory effect on the hind paw swelling in collagen-induced arthritis rats, and a significant inhibitory effect on the increase of IgG serum concentration, a significant immunomodulatory effect on the abnormal CD4, CD8 and T lymphocytes as well as a significant inhibitory effect on tumor necrosis factor α. The synovial membrane edema, inflammatory cell infiltration, synovial proliferation, pannus generating and cartilage destruction achieved an improvement in different doses of self-prescribed Tongbi decoction groups.