EFFECTS OF JAPANESE HERBAL MEDICINE SHO-SAIKO-TO ON IN-VITRO PRODUCTION OF TUMOR-NECROSIS-FACTOR-ALPHA ON PERIPHERAL-BLOOD MONONUCLEAR-CELLS

''Xiao-Chai-Hu-Tang'' is a herbal medicine that has been used for the treatment of pyretic diseases in China for several thousand years. In Japan, this medicine was modified into ''Sho-saiko-to,'' a prescriptio n drug with standard quality and volume of ingredients. It is widely u sed as a biological response modifier in the treatment of chronic vira l liver diseases. Several researchers have reported improvement of gen eral physical conditions and the drug's usefulness in preventing liver cancer development. In this in vitro study, peripheral blood mononucl ear cells (PBMC) were obtained from 12 healthy volunteers, and Sho-sai ko-to (TJ-9) was added to the cultures of the PBMC. Dose-dependent inc reases in the levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) were o bserved in the cultures. Similar but smaller increases in the TNF-alph a levels were also observed when other Japanese herbal medicines, Dai- saiko-to (TJ-8) or Saiko-keishi-to (TJ-10), were added to the cultures . These results demonstrated that the increases of TNF-alpha levels ar e specifically due to Sho-saiko-to and other drugs with similar ingred ients. TNF-alpha is believed to have anti-tumor effects and also to ha ve an important role as IL-1 in the defense mechanism of the body. The refore, the induction of TNF-alpha could also be useful in clinical tr eatment, and this effect could be one of the mechanisms by which Sho-s aiko-to demonstrates efficacy in the treatment of patients with chroni c viral liver diseases.