Qingnaopian: A Chinese herbal formula in reducing glial fibrillary acidic protein and inflammation in concussion mice.

Qingnaopian has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for treating central nervous system (CNS) injury and inflammatory diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of Qingnaopian in concussion mice. C57BL/6 mice were used to establish the mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI)/ concussion using the weight-drop techniques. Animal behavioral experiments righting reflex response and locomotor activity were assessed. The expression of pro inflammatory cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-1 and Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) were assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and Western blot method, respectively. SPSS 19.0 software was used for statistical analysis. The results showed that righting reflex time and locomotor activity were higher in model group compared with those in control group. Qingnaopian treated mice had lower pro inflammatory cytokines, such as IL-1, IL-6 and TNF-α with alleviated GFAP. In short, Qingnaopian treatment improved GFAP induced by blow to head and inflammatory cytokines in concussion mice.