Antiinflammatory effect of tetramethylpyrazine and ferulic acid.

Tetramethylpyrazine (TMP) is one of the alkaloids contained in Ligusticum wallichii Franch (L. wallichii). Ferulic acid (FA) is a phenolic compound contained in L. wallichii and Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels (A. sinensis). The present study was carried out to examine the antiinflammatory effect and to elucidate the mode of the effect of TMP and FA. Both compounds significantly inhibited the edema induced by carrageenin, the increase of the dye leakage induced by acetic acid and the granuloma formation induced by cotton pellet. And also, TMP and FA inhibited the number of writhes induced by acetic acid. From these results, it is suggested that both compounds have the antiinflammatory effect and the analgesic effect, and both compounds exert an antiinflammatory effect at the early and the late stages of processes in the inflammatory pathology.