Effects of the Japanese Herbal Medicine “Sho‐saiko‐to”(TJ‐9) on Interleukin‐12 Production in Patients withHCV‐Positive Liver Cirrhosis

Abstract

Interleukin‐12 (IL‐12) is an important cytokine for maintainence of normal systemic defense and bioregulation. The Japanese herbal medicine Sho‐saiko‐to (TJ‐9) has been administered to 1.5 million Japanese patients with chronic liver diseases. TJ‐9 is known to significantly suppress cancer development in the liver and has macrobiotic effects. In the present study, we examined the in vitro production of IL‐12 by circulating mononuclear cells from liver cirrhosis patients and the effects of TJ‐9 on IL‐12 production.The monocyte/macrophage fraction and the lymphocyte fraction of peripheral blood were obtained from 11 HCV‐positive liver cirrhosis patients and 12 healthy subjects. Interleukin‐12 levels in the supernatants were measured using ELISA kits. The levels of IL‐12 produced by the patients fractions were significantly lower than those produced by healthy subjects (p < 0.01, p < 0.05). However, when TJ‐9 was added to the cultures, the IL‐12 production levels in both cell fractions increased approximately three fold, and the levels from the monocyte/macrophage fraction were almost the same as those from healthy subjects. This effect of TJ‐9 was attributable to two of its seven herb components, that is, scutellaria root and glycyrrhiza root. One possible mechanism for the macrobiotic effects of TJ‐9 on liver cirrhosis patients may be the improvement in IL‐12 production.