Immunopharmacol Immunotoxicol. 1998 Aug; 20(3): 421-31.

Protective effect of oral administration of a traditional medicine, Juzen-Taiho-To, and its components on lethal Candida albicans infection in immunosuppressed mice.

Abe S, Tansho S, Ishibashi H, Inagaki N, Komatsu Y, Yamaguchi H.

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Teikyo University School of Medicine, Itabashi, Tokyo.

Protective effects of a kampo medicine, Juzen-taiho-to (TJ-48) and its herbal components against experimental candidiasis in cyclophosphamide-induced immunosuppressive mice were investigated. ICR mice were immunosuppressed by intraperitoneal treatment with cyclophosphamide (day-4) and were orally given TJ-48 or one of its 10 herbal components for 4 consecutive days (day-4--1). They were then challenged intravenously with a lethal dose of Candida albicans (day 0). An oral dose of 1 g/kg/day of TJ-48 prolonged their life span. A similar protective effect was obtained by treatment with its component drugs Ginseng radix, Glycyrrhizae radix, Atractylodis lancea rhizoma or Cnidii rhizoma. These herbal components were suggested to have a main role in the protective effect of Juzen-taiho-to against Candida infection.