| Disease | REVIEW WITH 37 REFERENCES ON CLINICAL APPLICATIONS, IMMUNOSUPPRESSIVE ACTIONS & TOXICITY OF THE TITLE PLANT. IT IS USED IN CHINA FOR TREATMENT OF A NUMBER OF DISEASES, INCLUDING RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS, LUPUS, BEHCET'S DISEASE & SJOREN'S SYNDROME.
OTHER DISEASES TREATED INCLUDE GLOMERULONEPHRITIS, PURPURIC NEPHRITIS, NEPHRITIS IN HEPATITIS B, ERYTHEMA MULTIFORME, NEURALGIA IN LEPRA REACTION, PEMPHIGUS, PSORIASIS AND PARAPSORIASIS.
IT INHIBITS CELLULAR IMMUNITY, ESPECIALLY T-CELL LYMPHOCYTE TRANSFORMATION, THROUGH INHIBITION OF THE PRODUCTION OF INTERLEUKIN-2. IT ALSO INHIBITS HUMORAL IMMUNITY ESPECIALLY THYMUS-DEPENDENT ANTIGEN-INDUCED ANTIBODY FORMATION.
THE ACTIVE CONSTITUENTS KNOWN TO DATE ARE TRIPTERINE, TRIPTONIDE AND TRIPTOLIDE. IT'S MAJOR TOXIC MANIFESTATIONS ARE GASTROINTESTINAL SYMPTOMS, LEUKOPENIA, THROMBOCYTOPENIA AND AMENORRHEA.
TOXIC REACTIONS OCCUR MORE OFTEN WITH LIQUID PREPARATIONS. IT IS ALSO KNOWN TO CAUSE RENAL FAILURE, CONTACT DERMATITIS, SPLEEN AND LIVER INJURIES AND DAMAGE OF SPERMATOGENIC EPITHELIUM IN THE TESTES. |