Abstract
The Yinzhihuang injection, a traditional Chinese medicine, has been the recent target of increasing interest due to its anti-inflammatory properties. The molecular basis by which Yinzhihuang injection could cure Riemerella anatipestifer (RA) serositis in ducks is unclear. This study evaluated the antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects of Yinzhihuang injection, using disease models of RA-induced infectious serositis in ducks and heptane-induced inflammation in mice and rats. The duck mortality rate was reduced from 60% to 20% and both the inflammatory response and histological damage were ameliorated by treatment with Yinzhihuang injection (0.02 g/kg). Further studies indicated that superoxide dismutase (SOD), nitric oxide synthase (NOS), and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) were elevated while malondialdehyde (MDA), nitric oxide (NO) and RA growth were inhibited when the ducks were treated by Yinzhihuang injection. In addition, Yinzhihuang injection (0.04 g/ml) effectively inhibited xylene-induced auricle swelling in mice, (demonstrating an inhibition rate of 35.21%), egg albumen-induced paw metatarsus swelling in rats, (demonstrating an inhibition rate of 22.30%), and agar-induced formation of granulation tissue. These results suggest that Yinzhihuang injection ameliorates RA-induced infectious serositis in ducks by modulation of inflammatory mediators and antioxidation.