Acta Med Okayama
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The root and stem decoctions of Sinomenium acutum Rehd. et Wils. (formerly Sinomenium diversifolius Diels, one type of Fang-chi (Chinese)) have been used as a folk remedy for neuralgia and rheumatoid arthritis in many areas of the Far East. In Japan and China various viny plants have been identified as Fang-chi (Boi in Japanese) since antiquity. This uncertain nomenclature has made it difficult to evaluate the efficacy of the Fang-chi described in the classic literature. ⋯ Granulation tissue growth and adjuvant arthritis induced in rats were both inhibited by daily injections of a small dose of sinomenine hydrochloride or histamine dihydrochloride. These inhibitory effects were mediated through histamine H2-receptors probably on fibroblasts (for granulation tissue growth) and on T-cells (for adjuvant arthritis), since these effects were clearly inhibited by the H2-antagonist burimamide but not by the H1-antagonist mepyramine. The anti-rheumatic effect on Sinomenium acutum are probably genuine and can probably be attributed to the histamine-releasing properties of sinomenine.