ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the effects of the traditional Chinese medicine SanZiPaiTanTang combined with ambroxol in the treatment of airway mucus hypersecretion in rats with asthma. Methods Forty SD rats were randomly divided into 5 groups (8 each): normal group, asthma group, SanZiPaiTanTang group (Chinese medicine group), ambroxol group (Western medicine group), SanZiPaiTanTang combined with ambroxol group (The combinational group). The rat asthma model was reproduced with ovalbumin (OVA), and all these rats were morphologically scored on the 42th and 56th day. Airway inflammation was observed pathologically with HE staining, and the expression of lung tissue mucin (MUC5AC) was examined by immunohistochemistry The IL-13 content in serum was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the proliferation of goblet cells in airway was detected by periodic acid Schiff (PAS) staining. Results The morphological score and airway inflammation decreased in all drug treated groups as compared with those in asthma group. The MUC5AC levels were higher in asthma group than in normal group (0.530 ± 0.035 vs 0.132 ± 0.020, P<0.05), the combination group (0.254 ± 0.029), the Chinese medicine group (0.359 ± 0.025) and the Western medicine group (0.386 ± 0.030) (P<0.05), while the difference between combinational group and Chinese medicine group or Western medicine group was statistically significant (P<0.05). The IL-13 contents markedly decreased in the combinational group, Chinese medicine group and Western medicine group compared with that in asthma group (42.41 ± 3.15, 46.31 ± 3.07, 43.05 ± 2.70 vs 51.65 ± 4.07, P<0.05), and the difference between the combinational group and Chinese medicine group was statistically signifcant (P<0.05), but no signifcant difference was found between the combinational group and the Western medicine group. Te goblet cell hyperplasia area was signifcantly lower in the three drug treated groups than in asthma group (41.21 ± 2.88, 48.10 ± 3.44, 51.06 ± 3.51 vs 63.25 ± 5.02, P<0.05), and the difference between combinational group and Chinese medicine group or Western medicine group was statistically signifcant (P<0.05). Conclusion SanZiPaiTanTang combined with ambroxol can suppress the hypersecretion of airway mucus in asthma rats probably by reducing the expression of IL-13 and the proliferation of goblet cells, and its efficacy is higher than that of Chinese medicine or Western medicine alone.