ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To determine the effects of Chinese herbal monomers such as baicalin, berberine, and matrine on the androgen receptor (AR) mRNA expression in SZ95 sebocytes in vitro and to explore the possible mechanism of using traditional Chinese medicines to treat acne.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>SZ95 sebocytes were cultured and then treated with berberine, baicalin, matrine, and 13-cis-retinoic acid for 24 hours. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction was applied to detect the changes of AR.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>AR mRNA was downregulated by 13-cis-retinoic acid of 1 x 10(-5) mol/L and 1 x 10(-6) mol/L, and by baicalin of 1 x 10(-4) mol/L (P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>13-cis-retinoic acid and baicalin may exert antiandrogenitic action by inhibiting AR mRNA expression in human sebocytes.</p>