Abstract
Food allergic diseases causing damage to many human organs are increasing dramatically. Therefore the management of food allergres in clinical practice is needed. We studied the effect of Hochu-Ekki-To on liver and small intestine damage in a mouse model of food allergy. First, NC/Jic strain mice with high levels of serum IgE were sensitized with ovalbumin (OVA), and the mice were treated with Hochu-Ekki-To or saline. We organized the mice into 4 groups : Group 1 and 2 were sensitized and treated with low dose (300 mg/kg/day) and high dose (1000 mg/kg/day) Hochu-Ekki-To, respectively, Group 3 was sensitized and treated with saline and Group 4 was nonsensitized. Second, mouse serum, liver and small intestinal samples were collected. The levels of serum ALT were detected using spectrometry. The number of multinucleated hepatocytes was counted, and hepatic nuclear size and small intestinal villous edema were measured using an image analyzer. Immmunohistochemical staining for IL-4, IL-6, TNF-α and CD4 detection were performed. The experimental results showed that treatment with Hochu-Ekki-To significantly reduced serum ALT levels, and significantly inhibited food allergy induced hepatocyte degeneration in terms of multinucleation and nucleus size, and villous edema in the small intestine, compared to sensitized mice using saline. In addition, cytokine expressions of IL-4, IL-6, TNF-α and CD4 decreased significantly in mice treated with Hochu-Ekki-To. Consequently, we can conclude that Hochu-Ekki-To improved liver and small intestine damage caused by food allergies in mice.
