THE EFFECT OF ECHINOPANAX ELATUM NAKAI ON EXPERIMENTAL ARTHRITIS AND THE NEURO-HYPOPHYSEAL-ADRENAL SYSTEM

The stem of Echinopanax elatum Nakai was used in Chinese folk medicine as an analgesic for the treatment of arthritis.In the present study, the toxicity of Echinopanax elatura Nakai for mice was found to be very low. When a 40% alcoholic extract was administered orally to mice at the dosage of 50 g/kg, no death was observed.Irritation arthritis produced in rats by subcutaneous injections of either formalin, egg white, or dextran to the ankle joint of the hind leg was employed for the test. When rats were given alcoholic extract of Echinopanax elatum Nakai at the dosage of 10 g/kg by garage, the swelling of the hind paw was inhibited significantly, and subsided more rapidly. In addition, it was found that Echinopanax elaturn Nakai exerted an inhibiting effect on the cotton-pellet granuloma induced in rats.In contrast, in bilateral adrenalectomzed rats Echinopanax elatum Nakai could not prevent the development of the inflammation induced by dextran.Administration of Echinopanax elaturn Nakai 10 g/kg to rats by gay age caused marked depletion of adrenal ascorbic acid in intact rats. However, the adrenal ascorbic acid depleting effect of the compound disappeared in hypophysectomized rats. From these results, it would appear that Echinopanax elatum Nakai has a stimulatory action on the hypophyseal-adrenal system.