Objective: To study the therapeutic mechanism of aloe vera in allergic rhinitis (AR).
Method: Ovalbumin sensitized white rat used as animal models of AR were treated intranasally with aloe vera. At the end of treatment, the differences in the behavior science were observed; the changes in the nasal mucosa were studied by pathological; IL-2, IL-4 mRNA in the nasal mucosa and spleen were used to do reverse transcriptive polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).
Result: The behavior science score of positive controls (8.42 +/- 1.06) was higher than the experimental group (2.02 +/- 0.42) and normal controls (0); inflammatory reactions in the experimental group nasal mucosa were remarkably relieved; the mean expression level of IL-2 mRNA in the experimental group was higher significantly than positive controls (P < 0.01); but that of IL-4 mRNA was lower evidently (P < 0.01).
Conclusion: The aloe vera are suggested to be involved in the differentiation of CD4+ lymphocytes, by means of regulating the expression of Th1 and Th2 cytokines. The results suggests that local aloe vera treatment was a selective and non-traumatic method to treat the allergic rhinitis.