Therapeutic mechanism,and clinical application of the external-use eczema decoction in the treatment of eczema in rats

JIAO Chunxiu; ZHAO Jun; YAO Ting; ZHOU Junhui

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1002-3429.2026.01.015

Abstract：Objective To observe the effect of external-use eczema decoction on the degree of skin inflammation in rats with eczema and its therapeutic mechanism,and to evaluate the efficacy and safety of external-use eczema decoction combined with Corticosteroid ointment in the treatment of mild to moderate eczema in children through clinical trials.Methods Forty 5-week-old clean-grade male SD rats were randomly divided into Chinese herbal medicine group,positive drug group,the model group,the Glucocorticoid group and the blank control group,with 8 rats in each group.The rat model of eczema was constructed by 2,4-dinitrochlorobenzene,and the blank control group was not modeled.After successful modeling,the Chinese herbal medicine group,the positive drug group and the Glucocorticoid group were treated with external-use eczema decoction,Binghuangfule ointment and Hydrocortisone Butyrate cream respectively,while the model group and the blank control group were not given any drug treatment.The experiment lasted until the 30th day,the changes of ear thickness and the severity of skin lesions in each group were recorded.Transepidermal water loss(TEWL)and water content of stratum corneum(WCSC)were measured.Blood samples were collected to determine the levels of immunoglobulin E(IgE)and interleukin(IL)-4.From January 2018 to December 2019,60 children with mild to moderate eczema were selected and divided into the control group(n=30)and the intervention group(n=30)according to random number table method.The control group was treated with conventional Glucocorticoid ointment,and the intervention group was treated with external-use eczema decoction on this basis.The therapeutic effect,re-visit rate,eczema area and severity index(EASI)score,serum IL-4,IL-18 and IL-23 levels and adverse reactions were observed in the two groups.Results Compared with the blank control group,the observation indexes of the model group were statistically different(P＜0.05).Compared with the model group,the ear thickness,skin lesion severity score and serum IL-4 level of the Chinese herbal medicine group,the positive drug group and the Glucocorticoid group decreased after the experiment,which was the lowest in the Chinese herbal medicine group,followed by the positive control drug group and the Glucocorticoid group(P＜0.05).Compared with the model group,TEWL decreased and WCSC increased in the Glucocorticoid group,positive control drug group and Chinese herbal medicine group(P＜0.05).The TEWL of the positive control drug group and the Chinese herbal medicine group was lower than that of the Glucocorticoid group,and the WCSC was higher than that of the Glucocorticoid group(P＜0.05).There was no significant difference in serum IgE levels between the Chinese herbal medicine group,the positive control drug group,the Glucocorticoid group and the model group(P＞0.05).After treatment,the EASI score and serum levels of IL-4,IL-18 and IL-23 in the intervention group were lower than those in the control group,and the eczema area was smaller than that in the control group(P＜0.05).The cure rate of the intervention group was higher than that of the control group,while the re-visit rate was lower than that of the control group(P＜0.05).There was no significant difference in the total incidence of adverse reactions between the two groups(P＞0.05).Conclusion External-use eczema decoction can reduce the inflammatory response and improve the skin lesion,eczema symptoms and skin barrier function of eczema rats.External-use eczema decoction can improve the clinical efficacy of children with mild to moderate eczema,reduce serum inflammatory factors and re-visit rate,and has good safety.