The feature of asthma are airway inflammation (AI), reversible airway obstruction, and an increased sensitivity to bronchoconstricting agents, elevated airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR), excess production of Th2 cytokines, and eosinophil accumulation in the lungs. This study was performed to investigate if oral administration of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi water extracts (SBG) have the antiasthmatic potential for the treatment of asthma. Asthmatic HI and AHR were induced by systemic sensitization to ovalbumin (OVA) with intratracheal instillation with 0.1 mg/mL of diesel exhaust particles (DEP) suspension once a week for 10 weeks in BALB/c mice. SBG was orally administered with the concentraion of 200 mg/kg 5 days a week for 10 weeks. Long-term SBG treatment suppressed the eosinophil infiltration into airways from blood, the asthmatic AI and AHR by attenuating the production of cytokine IL-4, IL-5 and IL-13, histamine and OVA-specific IgE. Our data suggest that SBG has inhibitory effects on AI and AHR in a mouse model of asthma, may act as a potential Th2 cytokine antagonist, and may have a therapeutic effect on allergic asthma.

황금추출물의 간장기능 회복능을 알아보기 위하여, CCl4로 간중독을 유도한 쥐에게 황금추출물을 급여한 후, 혈액성상, 혈액 내 효소활성치 및 간장 내 전염증성 cytokines의 농도변화를 검토했다. RBC, Hb 및 PCV의 값은 처리군간에 유의한 차이를 나타내지 않았다. 백혈구 총수는 대조군과 비교하여 황금 처리군 모두가 낮은 수치를 나타내었으며, 황금추출물 첨가량이 증가함에 따라 neutrophils 및 eosinophile의 비율이 감소하고, lymphocytes 및 monocytes의 비율이 증가하였다. basophils의 구성비는 처리군 별 유의한 차이를 나타내지 않았다. Total protein 농도 및 albumin 농도는 처리군 간에 유의한 차이를 나타내지 않았다. 그러나 albumin/globulin 농도 비율은 대조군보다 황금추출물 처리군에서 높았다. GOT, GPT 및 LDH의 효소활성치들은 모두가 대조군보다 황금추출물 처리군에서 낮은 수치를 나타내었으며, 황금추출물 첨가량이 증가함에 따라 하락하는 경향을 보였다. 간장 내 IL-1β, IL-6 및 TNF-α의 농도는 대조군보다 황금추출물 처리군 모두가 낮은 값을 나타내었으며, IL-10의 농도는 대조군보다 황금추출물 처리군 모두가 높은 값을 나타내었다. 이상의 결과를 종합해 보면 황금추출물은 간장기능회복에 효과를 나타내는 기능성 물질을 내재하고 있음을 시사해 준다.

GATA-binding protein-3 (GATA-3) and T-box expressed in T-cells (T-bet) are now considered as master transcription factors involving Th cell differentiation, but the roles of these factors are still uncertain in vivo. This study was conducted to investigate the expression of these transcription factors in the liver damage induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) in rats. In this study, liver damage were induced with Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi water extracts (SBW) and followed for 4 weeks. The expression of GATA-3 and T-bet protein in liver damage induced by CCl4 and the serum levels of immunoglobulin A (IgA), IgE were studied after 4 weeks of treatment. We found that effect of SBW on IFN-γ, STAT1, pSTAT1 and T-bet was decreased in vivo. Several genes were demonstrated to be IL-4 inducible prior to the discovery of STAT6. CCl4+SBW group was significantly lower than CCl4 group in IL-4, STAT6, pSTAT6 and GATA-3. Our data indicate that cytokine protein production were increased in CCl4 group and CCl4+SBW group. From these results, water extracts obtained from Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi may have an immunoregulatory effect in the liver induced by CCl4 of rats.