Silsosangami is a dried decoctum of a mixture of seven Korean herbal medicine, which is consisted of seven herbs (indicated as concentrations) of Typhae Pollen, Pteropi Faeces, Paeoniae Radicis rubra, Cnidii Rhizoma, Persicae Semen,
Carthami Flos and Curcumae Tuber. In the present study, the effects of
Silsosangami water extract (SSG) on
hemolysis in human blood were studied. Using an in vitro system, only Curcumae Tuber, Persicae Semen and Paeoniae Radicis rubra had the strongest effects on
hemolysis; Typhae Pollen and Pteropi Faeces had the slight effects; and Cnidii Rhizoma and
Carthami Flos had no effect. On the other hand, the SSG inhibited neutrophil functions, including degranulation,
superoxide generation, and
leukotriene B4 production, without any effect on
5-lipoxygenase activity. This SSG reduced
nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglanin E2 (
PGE2) production in mouse peritoneal macrophages stimulated with
lipopolysaccharide, without the influence on the activity of inducible
NO synthase (iNOS),
cyclooxygenase COX-2 and COX-1 being observed. SSG significantly reduced mouse paw oedema induced by
carrageenan. Western blot analysis showed that SSG reduced the expression of iNOS and COX-2. These results suggested that SSG might be used as a novel antithrombotic therapeutic agents in post-
myocardial infarction and also, indicated that SSG exerts anti-inflammatory effects related to the inhibition of neutrophil functions and of NO and
PGE2 production, which could be due to a decreased expression of iNOS and COX-2.