Gastrodia elata Blume is a well-known kind of
natural products used as a
folk medicine for thousands of years. However, anti-
atopic dermatitis-like effects of G. elata Blume had not been evaluated until now. The aim of the present study is to investigate the protective effects of
water extract from the roots of G. elata Blume (GE) on 2, 4-
dinitrochlorobenzene-induced
atopic dermatitis-like
skin lesions using balb/c
mice. Combination
treatment of GE (at a
dose of 12.5 mg/kg
body weight by administrated per os + 0.5 mg/cm2 as
ointment to apply on
ear and dorsal
skin) was significantly inhibited
spleen weight,
ear thickness, levels of
serum immunoglobulin E and number of
mast cells, compared with that of 2, 4-
dinitrochlorobenzene-included groups without GE. Furthermore, combination application by
oral administration plus by
ointment of GE significantly inhibited the
histamine release from
rat peritoneal
mast cells. These results suggest that combination
treatment of
oral administration plus
ointment form of GE could be helpful as a potentially natural
pharmaceutical treatment on atopic-like
dermatitis.