The effect of three Korean traditional medicines on the growth rate of cultured human keratinocytes

The effect of three different Korean Traditional Medicines (KTM) was studie d on several functional parameters of adult human cells in culture. The cel ls were non-transformed strains of normal, skin epidermal cells (keratinocy tes) from adult humans. Aqueous extracts of the herbal medicines were teste d using two types of cell strains: one type was essential fatty acid defici ent (EFAD) cells which grow rapidly in medium that was low in calcium and h ad no essential fatty acids; the second type was a cell strain grown in med ium supplemented with essential fatty acid (EFA-supplemented). These cells had much slower, in vivo skin growth rates, and the fatty acid composition resembled that measured in epidermal biopsy tissue. The KTMs chosen for thi s study were tae-gang-hual-tang (for treating osteoarthritis), hual-ak-tang (for pain relief) and sip-zeon-tae-bo-tang (for fortifying immune systems) . Because high proliferation rates usually correlate with skin inflammation and because many of the chemotactic agents mediating inflammatory response are modified fatty acids, this study focused on cell growth rate and membr ane fatty acid composition as signals for the effects of the herbal medicin es. By monitoring growth rate, these experiments measured both a stimulator y and a regulatory effect on the growth of keratinocytes. Some toxicity was seen at the highest doses of the KTMs. These effects were modeled mathemat ically, and the results showed varying effects on growth rate depending on dose and herbal recipe. The fitting parameters were discussed as they relat e to biological function. The experimental design was also discussed and al ternatives were suggested. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All right s reserved.