Cepharanthine was evaluated against ear inflammation produced in mice by arachidonic acid and the following results were obtained. (1) Cepharanthine supressed ear edema in mice on arachidonic acid inflammation by systemic administration. (2) When cepharanthine ointments and nordihydroguaiaretic acid aceton solution were used topically, these agents were more effective against ear edema. (3) The othe drugs contained cycloxigenase inhibitors except for glucocorticoids were not effective neither local nor systemic administration.
These results suggested that cepharanthine influenced 5-lipoxigenase system on arachidonic acid metabolism.
