[Pharmaceutical screening of the effective fraction from Smilax for treatment of chronic pelvic inflammatory disease].

OBJECTIVE

To determine the effective fraction of Smilax for treatment of chronic pelvic inflammatory disease (CPID) by pharmacodynamic screening as the basis for further development of sarsaparilla preparations.

METHODS

The chemical fractions of Smilax were administered intragastrically in rat models of CPID induced by injecting phenol mucilage into the uterus to observe the therapeutic effects. The anti-inflammatory effects of different extract fractions from Smilax were tested in mice with xylene-induced ear edema and in rats with cotton-ball-induced granuloma.

RESULTS

High-dose ethyl acetate extract of Smilax could obviously inhibit uterus inflammation in rats with CPID, showing also strong anti-inflammatory effects against ear edema in mice and granuloma in rats (P<0.01). The moderate dose of ethyl acetate extract also obviously ameliorated the inflammation. Both the ethyl acetate extract fraction and the total extract fraction of Smilax showed anti-inflammatory effects, while the former produced strong effects while the latter has only weak actions.

CONCLUSIONS

The ethyl acetate extract fraction of Smilax is the effective fraction to produce anti-inflammatory and anti-CPID effects.