allopurinol and Pneumonia--Aspiration

The effects of Qing Fei Tang (Sei-hai To in Japanese), a Chinese traditional medical mixture, on aspiration pneumonia were studied using mice inoculated with both Streptococcus pneumoniae and gastric juice as aspiration pneumoniae models. Daily (4 weeks) oral usage of Qing Fei Tang before inoculation reduced remarkably the mortality rate of mice. In this aspiration pneumonia model, xanthine oxidase (XO) activity in the lung tissues was elevated, but this elevation was remarkably decreased by use of Qing Fei Tang. These results suggest that Qing Fei Tang pretreatment can reduce oxygen radical production in inflammed lungs and may reduce the mortality for aspiration pneumonia.

Topics: Animals; Antioxidants; Colony Count, Microbial; Drugs, Chinese Herbal; Humans; Leukocyte Count; Lung; Male; Mice; Neutrophils; Pneumonia, Aspiration; Pneumonia, Bacterial; Streptococcus pneumoniae; Superoxide Dismutase; Xanthine Oxidase