[Effects of Salvia miltiorrhiza on serum levels of inflammatory cytokines in patients with severe acute pancreatitis].
To study the effects of Salvia miltiorrhiza on serum levels of cytokines including interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-8 (IL-8) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) in patients with severe acute pancreatitis (SAP).
                Thirty-six SAP patients were randomly divided into Salvia miltiorrhiza-treated group and non-Salvia miltiorrhiza-treated group with eighteen patients in each group. Fourteen age-matched healthy volunteers were assigned to control group. Serum levels of IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-alpha were tested within 24 hours of admission and 7 days after admission.
                Compared with those of the healthy volunteers, serum levels of the three cytokines of the SAP patients were significantly elevated (P<0.05). Serum levels of the three cytokines were significantly decreased in both Salvia miltiorrhiza-treated group and non-Salvia miltiorrhiza-treated group after 7-day treatment (P<0.05). The declining of the serum levels of the three cytokines in Salvia miltiorrhiza-treated group was more obvious than that in non-Salvia miltiorrhiza-treated group.
                Salvia miltiorrhiza can treat SAP patients by reducing the serum levels of IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-alpha.
Some Chinese medicinal herbs may work in acute pancreatitis. However, because the trials were of low quality, the evidence is too weak to recommend any single herb. Rigorously designed, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials are required.