The comparison of anti-inflammatory efficacy of escin, dexamethasone and cortisone

F. Fu, T. Wang, L. Wang, Y. Zou, M. Zhu, S. Duan, S. Wu. Yantai University, yantai, CHINA.

Introduction: Escin, a natural mixture of triterpenoid saponins, possesses anti-edematous and anti-inflammatory effects. This study aimed to evaluate the anti-inflammatory efficacy of escin and glucocorticoids.

Method: The carrageenan-induced paw edema test1 and the xylene-induced ear swelling test2 were used to evaluate the anti-inflammatory efficacy of escin, dexamethasone and cortisone. Rats were intravenously treated with escin (1.8 mg/kg), dexamethasone (1.0 mg/kg), or cortisone (1.0 mg/kg) while mice were intravenously administered with escin (1.8 mg/kg), dexamethasone (0.5 mg/kg), or cortisone (2.0 mg/kg). At 2, 4, 6, 12 or 24 h after treatment, the paw edema volume and the ear swelling were assayed. The data are expressed as the mean ± SD. The SPSS 20.0 statistical software was used for the analyses. Statistical analyses are performed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by a Dunnett\'s test.

Results: The paw edema volume of the control group increased after carrageenan injection. At 6 h after treatment, the paw edema volume in the escin group significantly decreased when compared with that of the control group. The decreases of paw edema volume in dexamethasone and cortisone groups were observed at 4 and 2 h, respectively (Table 1). At 4 h after treatment, the ear swelling in the escin, dexamethasone, and cortisone groups significantly reduced (Table 2). The inhibitory effct of escin and cortisone in carrageenan-induced paw edema and xylene-induced ear swelling continued until 24 h.

Table 1. Effects of escin, dexamethasone and cortisone on paw edema volum in rats (n=10)

*p<0.05, **p<0.01 vs. Control.

Table 2. Effects of escin, dexamethasone and cortisone on ear swelling in mice (n=8-10)

*p<0.05, **p<0.01 vs. Control.

Conclusion: The duration of anti-inflammatory action of escin is longer than that of dexamethasone. The duration of anti-inflammatory action of escin is as long as that of cortisone.

References:

1. Wang Y et al. (2014). J Ethnopharmacol 151(2): 944-950.

2. Chae HS et al. (2015). Int Immunopharmacol 29(2): 966-973.