Allergic Reactions of Guinea Pigs Induced by Several Chinese Herbal Injections

In order to explore the feasibility to predict allergic reactions induced by several Chinese herbal injections (CHIs) earlier, guinea pigs were sensitized by injecting different CHIs for three times, serum IL-4 and IgE were detected by method of enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) before challenged once by injecting the same drug intravenously. The results were compared with that of routine method of intraperitoneal sensitization. We found the contents of serum IL-4 and IgE increased significantly before guinea pigs were challenged, either in eighth day (d8) after intravenous sensitization or in d14 and d21 after intraperitoneal sensitization by Qingkailing injection or Xiangdan injection. Allergic reactions of guinea pigs occurred after challenged by the same drug, while not seen in Chuankezhi injection. It suggests that CHIs-induced allergic reactions can be predicted earlier by detecting serum IL-4 and IgE in d8 after sensitization, the examination period is reduced by 1-2 weeks compared with the routine method. It has a good application value in drug emergency test.