Effects of Schisandra chinensis Turcz. fruit on contact dermatitis induced by dinitrofluorobenzene in mice.

Schisandra chinensis Turcz. fruit is widely used to treat skin diseases. The aim of this study was to determine the anti-inflammatory effects of the methanol extract of S. chinensis (MESC) on 1-fluoro-2,4-dinitrofluorobenzene (DNFB)-induced contact dermatitis (CD) in mice. The effects of MESC on ear thickness and weight, histopathological changes, immune cell filtration and cytokine production were investigated in DNFB-induced CD mice. Topical application of MESC effectively inhibited ear swelling (30 or 300 μg on the left ear, P<0.001; 30 μg on the right ear, P<0.001). MESC also inhibited hyperplasia, spongiosis (100 μg/ear, P<0.05 and 300 μg/ear, P<0.001, respectively) and immune cell infiltration (100 μg/ear, P<0.05; 300 μg/ear, P<0.001) induced by DNFB. In addition, MESC suppressed increases in tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α levels (100 or 300 μg/ear, P<0.05), interferon (INF)-γ (30 μg/ear, P<0.05; 100 μg/ear, P<0.01; 300 μg/ear, P<0.001), interleukin (IL)-6 (300 μg/ear, P<0.05) and monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1 (30 μg/ear, P<0.05; 100 μg/ear, P<0.01; 300 μg/ear, P<0.001). These results suggest that the anti-inflammatory effects of MESC are mediated by the reduced production of TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-6 and MCP-1, and that MESC has potential use for the treatment of inflammatory skin diseases.