Background/Aims: Gastroprokinetic agents are used for patients with postoperative ileus (POI), and the Japanese traditional herbal medicine daikenchuto (DKT) is one such agent used in the clinical setting.POI is caused by inflammation. DKT and rikkunshito have anti-inflammatory abilities in addition to their gastroprokinetic effects. The efficacy of Kampo formulations, including hangekobokuto (HKT), in patients with POI has been reported recently. Several authors have described the efficacy of honokiol, the primary component of Magnoliae Cortex, in HKT in mouse models of POI. We therefore analyzed the effect of HKT on POI model mice to determine the similarities in the mechanism of action between HKT and DKT.Methods: HKT was administered orally to each mouse before and after intestinal manipulation was performed on the distal ileum. The gastrointestinal transit in vivo, leukocyte infiltration, and levels of inflammatory mediators, such as cytokines and chemokines, were analyzed.Results: HKT significantly inhibited the infiltration of neutrophils and macrophages and led to the recovery of delayed intestinal transit. In addition, it significantly decreased inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) as well as honokiol levels, suggesting anti-inflammatory activity. However, it did not inhibit the increase in levels of interleukin (IL)-1beta and IL-6, which are related to iNOS induction. In contrast, HKT increased levels of nerve growth factor (NGF) and suppressed those of nuclear factor-κB (NFκB), which are related to

Aim: Few pharmacological prophylactics have been developed to prevent lower respiratory tract infection before the onset. Because hochuekkito formula containing Atractylodis lanceae rhizoma (ALR formula) has been shown to enhance the adaptive mucosal immune system of both the upper and lower respiratory tracts, the effect of the formula was investigated on pulmonary infection with Streptococcus pneumoniae and productions of anti-bacterial proteins as innate protective immunity in lung of immuno-compromised mice. Methods: Cyclophosphamide (CY)-treated BALB/c mice were intranasally infected with S. pneumoniae, and effects of hochuekkito formula comprising Hedysari radix and ALR (HR/ALR formula) were evaluated on bacterial counts in lung and lung damage. CY-treated and untreated mice were stimulated by intranasal inoculation of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and the effect of administrating HR/ALR-hochuekkito on the production of anti-bacterial proteins in the lung was also analyzed. Results: Oral administration of HR/ALR-hochuekkito (1.5 g/kg) reduced cell counts of S. pneumoniae in bronchoalveolar fluids (BALF) of CY-treated mice. Bactericidal activity of BALF and mRNA expression of surfactant protein D gene (Sftpd) in the lung were significantly increased by HR/ALR-hochuekkito prior to S. pneumoniae infection. Intestinal manipulation decreased mRNA expression of surfactant protein A gene (Sftpa1) in the lung, and HR/ALR formula improved this impairment. The formula enhanced the production of surfactant protein D and chitinase-3-like-1 in both CY-treated and untreated mice under LPS stimulation. ALR-hochuekkito containing Astragali radix (ASR) (ASR/ALR formula) also increased the production of these anti-bacterial proteins. Conclusion: Prophylactic treatment with ALR-hochuekkito formula protected immuno-compromised mice from bacterial pneumonia by enhancing the production of anti-bacterial proteins such as surfactant protein A/D and chitinase-3-like-1 in the lung.