OBJECTIVETo evaluate the effect of astragalus (As) on cytokines in patients undergoing heart valve replacement (HVR).

METHODSThirty patients undergoing HVR were randomized into the As group and the control group. Cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) was set up routinely and to the As group, As injection (40 mL, 10 mL containing 2 g of crude drug) was added into the prime solution just before CPB. Blood samples were collected at different time points during and after CPB for cytokines determination, including tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-8 and IL-10 by ELISA.

RESULTSAll the indexes measured were insignificantly different between groups before skin incision, they began to increase by the end of CPB (P < 0.05), reached the peak 3 h after CPB and then decreased gradually, TNF-alpha returned to the baseline level 24 h after operation. Meanwhile, levels of IL-6, IL-8 and IL-10 decreased obviously but still above the baseline. Comparisons between groups at different time points showed that levels of IL-6 were not different significantly (P > 0.05), those of IL-10 were higher at all time points, and TNF-alpha and IL-8 at 3 h, 6 h and 12 h after CPB were significantly lower in the As group (all P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONAstragalus may decrease the inflammation cytokine promoting factors, and increase the level of anti-inflammatory cytokine (IL-10), so it could attenuate the inflammation reaction in patients after HVR.