Experimental Study On Anti-Inflammatory Action And Its Mechanism Of Natrix Tigrina Lateralis

Natrix tigrina Lateralis (NTL) is also named neck-pheasant. It is one of the zonic medicinal materials with important medicinal value, and it is nontoxic snake belonging to Colubridae. NTL has the function of expelling wind, eliminating dampness, relieving pain due to rheumatism, detoxification, etc., and because of its remarkable curative effect to rheumatoid arthritis and bone tuberculosis, and so forth, it has been applied far and wide in Chinese traditional folk. But there is no report on the systematic study of anti-inflammation action and mechanism of anti-inflammation. In our experiment, we observe the curative effect of NTL ethanol extract to acute and chronic inflammation in rats and mice by using several experimental study models, and its mechanism of anti-inflammation is discussed. The purpose is to provide a scientific experimental basis for clinical development and further research. Method and results are as follows:1.The experimental study of inflammationThis experiment opens out that NTL ethanol extract can inhibit the edema of rat hind paw induced by fresh egg white, the ear-swelling of mice induced by xylene, the celiac capillary of mice induced by acetic acid and the proliferation of grannuloma of rat induced by cotton ball through experimental study of effect of NTL on edema of rat hind paw induced by fresh egg white, ear-swelling of mice induced by xylene, celiac capillary of mice induced by acetic acid and proliferation of grannuloma of rat induced by cotton ball, and there is significant difference between NTL and control group, in a dose-dependent manner.2.The study of mechanism of its anti-inflammationThis experiment shows that NTL can inhibit the edema of hind paw induced by fresh egg white in adrenalectomized rat, reduce the weight of thymus in rat, increase the content of hepatic glycogen ,but decrease eosinophil of mice through experimentalstudy of effect of NTL on edema of hind paw induced by fresh eggwhite in adrenalectomized rat, weight of thymus in rat, content ofhepatic glycogen and eosinophil of mice. The results indicate that NTL has the analogous function to cortin. In the experimental study on the content of Vitamin C in adrenal gland and plasma hydrocortisone, the result shows NTL can't decrease the content of Vitamin C in adrenal gland, just appear the trend of decreasing the content of Vitamin C in adrenal gland, on the contrary, it can decrease the content of plasma cortisol in rat, which shows it has no effect to the synthesis and liberation of rat's adrenal cortical hormone.and its anti-inflammation function hasn't much relationship to hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis, so the relationship between the anti-inflammation and cortex needs further research.3. The effect to inflammatory mediatorsIn the assay of inflammatory exudates and 5-HT content, it can decrease the content of histamine and 5-HT in exudates, which shows that NTL effects anti-inflammation through inhibiting the liberation of inflammatory mediators histamine and 5-HT.To sum up, the experimental study on the anti-inflammation function and its mechanism of NTL shows it has the analogous function to the adrenal cortical hormone, and can effect anti-inflammation function though inhibiting the liberation of inflammatory mediators, but this function has no relationship tohypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis.Through the experimental study above, the anti-inflammation characteristic and mechanism of NTL is given basically overall evaluation and explanation, and its traditional function of expelling wind, eliminating dampness, relieving pain due to rheumatism andtreating rheumatism is tested elementarily, which provides stablescientific basis for reasonable exploiture and use of NTL.