[Pharmacological study on Aconiti Tuber. I. Effect of water extract from Aconiti Tuber on adjuvant-induced arthritis]

Anti-inflammatory activity of a hot water extract (A-ext) of Aconiti Tuber (Aconitum calmicaeli DEBX.) has been studied by using various experimental models. The successive administration of A-ext from the day of injection of adjuvant agent or 5 d after the injection it significantly inhibited the adjuvant-induced arthritis developed in the primary and secondary lesions in rats. However, when A-ext was administered from 11 d after the injection of adjuvant, the arthritic paw edema was not reduced. A-ext did not inhibit an acetic acid-induced increase in vascular permeability in mice and carrageenin-induced paw edema in rats. A-ext inhibited cotton pellet-induced granuloma in rats, but did not suppress the weight of thymus and adrenal gland. In vitro experiment, A-ext contracted the isolated ileum of guinea pig, but the contractive activity was reduced by pretreatment of anti-histamine agent, diphenhydramine, but not by pretreatment of papaverine or atropine. A-ext did not release histamine from peritoneal mast cell. These results suggest that A-ext prevents the adjuvant-induced arthritis and has a histamine-like effect.