• Yu Tang, Yonghui Liao, Nobuko Kawaguchi-Sakita, Vikram Raut, Elham Fakhrejahani, Niansong Qian, and Masakazu Toi.
• Department of Medical Image Center, Chinese PLA 302 Hospital, Beijing, China.
• J Hepatobiliary Pancreat Sci. 2011 Jul 1;18(4):551-8.

Background/PurposeSinisan, a traditional Chinese medicine, is effective for the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders. In this study, we investigated the potential protective role of Sinisan against chronic pancreatitis (CP) in rats.MethodsCP was induced in rats by intrapancreatic injection of trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS). Rats were randomly divided into a sham group, a TNBS-induced CP group and a Sinisan-treated group. Serum amylase and histological score were used to evaluate the severity of disease. The levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), interleukin-10 (IL-10) and α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) were also measured in the three groups. Mechanical allodynia was measured with von Frey filaments. In addition, the protein levels of nerve growth factor (NGF) were measured in pancreatic tissues.ResultsAdministration of Sinisan significantly decreased the severity of CP. In the Sinisan-treated group, serum amylase, TNF-α, IL-1β, COX-2 and α-SMA levels were lower and the level of IL-10 was upregulated compared with the TNBS-induced CP group. Furthermore, treatment with Sinisan significantly, though not completely, attenuated the allodynia. Simultaneously NGF expression was also significantly downregulated in the Sinisan-treated group compared with the TNBS-induced CP group.ConclusionsSinisan could be an effective treatment modality for CP via its anti-inflammatory, anti-fibrotic and analgesic properties. It may be a promising drug candidate for the treatment of patients with CP.

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