DOES THE NATURE OF THE SOLVENT AFFECT THE ANTIINFLAMMATORY CAPACITY OF TRICLOSAN - AN EXPERIMENTAL-STUDY

The anti-inflammatory properties of triclosan have been revealed in se veral recent studies, including an effect on histamine-induced inflamm ation. In other studies, the nature of the solvent has been shown to b e of importance for the plaque inhibiting as well as the antibacterial potential of triclosan. This study was aimed at examining whether the nature of the solvent also may influence the anti-inflammatory capaci ty of triclosan and further to study a possible dose/response relation ship. The study was performed as 3 separate, double-blind experiments, comprising 10, 11 and 12 healthy females. In all 3 experiments, 5 sit es on the lower part of the back of the volunteers were intradermally exposed to one drop of 1% histamine dihydrochloride for 15 min. The si ze of the resulting wheals was recorded before and after 40 min of tri closan treatment. In experiment 1, 4 different concentrations of tricl osan in 2-fold dilutions in absolute alcohol (0.125%-1%) were applied on the histamine-induced wheals. In experiments 2 and 3, 4 different s olutions containing 0.5% triclosan and a saline solution as negative c ontrol were used. The solvents in experiment 2 were as follows: (1) ab solute alcohol (positive control), (2) propylene glycol (PG), (3) poly ethylene glycol (PEG), (4) olive oil, and in experiment 3: (1) absolut e alcohol (positive control), (2) Tween 80, (3) sodium carbonate, (4) soy oil. The results showed a dose/ response effect of triclosan and f urther that the solvent may be of importance for its anti-inflammatory potential.