Tuhuai Extract Has Anti-Inflammatory Effects

SAN FRANCISCO—Tuhuai extract, a Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) comprised of flos sophorae, smilax glabra roxb and licorice, may support skin health. Researchers from the Dalian Skin Disease Hopspital, Liaoning, China, and the Department of Dermatology, San Francisco, investigated whether topical applications of Tuhuai extract exhibit anti-proliferative and anti-inflammatory activities in two murine models of inflammatory dermatoses. The researchers disrupted the epidermal barrier function twice daily for four days in normal hairless mice followed by topical applications of either 1 percent Tuhuai extract or vehicle to both flanks immediately after each perturbation. Epidermal proliferation and apoptosis perturbation changes were evaluated using immunohistochemistry and TUNEL staining. Irritant (phorbol ester) and acute allergic contact dermatitis (oxazolone) models were also used to assess any anti-inflammatory properties.

The researchers found topical Tuhuai extract did not alter epidermal proliferation or cause irritation in normal skin. In the epidermal hyperproliferative model, it reduced epidermal hyperplasia; in the irritant and allergic contact dermatitis models, the extract reduced inflammation. The researchers concluded, “As topical Tuhuai extract exhibits anti-proliferative and anti-inflammatory properties in a variety of human models of inflammatory dermatoses, Tuhai could provide an effective, relatively safe and inexpensive therapeutic alternative for the treatment of inflammatory dermatoses, including psoriasis.”