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Purple bamboo salt is a specially processed salt according to the traditional recipe using normal salt and bamboo. It has been used for the purpose of prevention and treatment of various diseases in Korea. We investigated the anti-inflammatory activity of purple bamboo salt by using human mast cell line (HMC-1). Purple bamboo salt (1 mg/mL) inhibited phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) plus calcium ionophore A23187-stimulated tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, interleukin (IL)-1beta and IL-6 secretion, by 67.04% +/- 0.08%, 68.01% +/- 1.85%, and 69.48% +/- 0.54%, respectively. In addition, the expression of TNF-alpha mRNA in HMC-1 cells was inhibited by purple bamboo salt under the same condition. When NaCl (1 mg/mL) was added, the secretion of TNF-alpha and IL-6 was also inhibited but the effect was markedly lower than purple bamboo salt. Our results suggest that purple bamboo salt importantly contributes to the prevention or treatment of inflammatory diseases.

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IntroductionLangerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) occurs rarely in the spine of adults. The radiological findings usually resemble vertebral tumors. Etiology of LCH has not been clearly established yet. Therapeutic approaches are still controversial. We describe a case of LCH in an adult spine.Case descriptionA patient who presented with low back pain had an osteolytic lesion in the L1 vertebral body without neurological deficits, and fluoroscopy-guided needle biopsy of the L1 vertebral body was performed. The immunohistochemical diagnosis confirmed LCH. The patient was successfully treated with conservative methods.DiscussionThe choice of appropriate therapy is very important, with treatment options varying from watch-and to aggressive treatment.ConclusionLCH is considered as a pediatric disease that is extremely rare in the spine of adults and should be include in the differential diagnosis of osteolytic vertebral lesions. Conservative treatment is best choice for a patient with LCH without neurological deficit or spinal instability.