ABSTRACT
Objective: To study the dose-effect relationship of Yuning ointment and its decomposed recipes in the treatment of oleic acid induced acne in mice. Methods: Oleic acid was administrated to the back (2 cm ×2 cm) of the mice (once a day) for 21 days to induce acne. At d22, the gradient dosage of Anemone flaccida crude drug (1. 06-1 060. 23 mg?kg-1?d-1,k=3. 16), Yuning oint-ment without Anemone flaccida crude drug (4. 73-1 767. 75 mg?kg-1?d-1, k=3. 16) and Yuning ointment (2. 84-2 827. 28 mg?kg-1?d-1, k=3. 16) was respectively administrated to the back of mice for 14 days. The pathological changes of skin were observed by hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining. The diameter of sebaceous glands and the ratio of follicular keratinization area were morphomet-rically analyzed. The serum levels of IL-1, IL-6 and TNF-α were detected by ELISA assay. The median effective dosages (ED50) of A-nemone flaccida in the three prescriptions were regressed by Prism 5. 01 software to determine the prescription dose-effect. Results: All the therapy groups were with significantly relieved pathological changes of sebaceous glands hypertrophy and follicular keratinization, and decreased serum levels of IL-1, IL-6 and TNF-α in a dose-dependent manner. The dose-response curves showed an "S" shape. A-mong the three therapy groups, the effect of Yuning ointment was the best. The ED50of Yuning ointment regressed by Anemone flaccida dose was 0. 28-fold for improving sebaceous glands hypertrophy, 0. 14-fold for inhibiting follicular keratinization, and 0. 15-, 0. 49-and 0. 24-fold for decreasing serum levels of IL-1, IL-6 and TNF-α. . Regressed by Yuning ointment without Anemone flaccida, the ED50of Yuning ointment was lower than Yuning ointment without Anemone flaccid in terms of improving pathological changes and inhibiting the secretion of cytokines. Conclusion: Yuning ointment can prevent and treat acne through regulating immune function. And the prescrip-tion compatibility can enhance the effects of Anemone flaccida.