Anti-sepsis effects of Dahuang Mudan decoction and its disassembled prescriptions.

Ethnopharmacological relevance: Dahuang Mudan decoction (DMD) is a traditional Chinese prescription from Zhang Zhongjing's Synopsis of the Golden Chamber. In clinical practice, it is often used in the treatment of infectious diseases.

Aim of the study: To assess the therapeutic effect of DMD and its disassembled prescriptions on septic mice, and explore its potential mechanism.

Materials and methods: Cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) sepsis and endotoxemia mice models were established. The effects of DMD, its disassembled prescriptions and active compounds were studied. Xuebijing injection (XBJ) was used as positive drug. Mice 7-day survival rates, blood biochemical markers, hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining and immune cell infiltration were used to evaluate the overall protective effect of the drugs on mice. Inflammatory cytokines and coagulation activation indicators were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

Results: DMD, its Huoxue prescription, constituent drugs Mudanpi (MDP) and Taoren (TR) significantly protected mice with sepsis, improved the survival rate, reduced the degree of organ damage, and reduced the infiltration of immune cells in the lung tissues. The protective effect is comparable to that of XBJ. MDP and TR inhibited the levels of inflammatory factors and coagulation activation in septic mice. Paeonol and paeoniflorin in MDP showed significant protective effects on septic mice, and inhibited inflammatory cytokines level and coagulation activation.

Conclusion: These results confirm that DMD and its disassembled prescriptions have good therapeutic effect on septic mice, and the mechanism may be related to inhibition of the inflammatory response and coagulation activation.