Objective To study the changes of serum interleukin-6 (IL-6) in rats with
severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) when treated with
Yiyanheji and Sandostain.Methods 96 healthy Wistar rats were randomly divided into 4 groups: negative control group (NC group),
severe acute pancreatitis (SAP group) group,Sandostain group (SH group) and Yiyanheji group (YH group).Animal models of SAP were induced by retrograde injection of 5% sodium taurocholate into the pancreatic duct in rats.SH group and YH group were treated with Sandostain and Yiyanheji respectively.IL-6 level was measured and pancreatic specimen was observed by macroscopy and optical
microscopy and electron microscopy at 12h,24h and 48h when the rats were killed.Results After SAP was induced,the serum IL-6 level of the rats increased significantly (P<0.01) which was decreasing 12h after the group was treated with Sandostain (P<0.01) and 24h after the group was treated with Yiyanheji (P<0.01).There was significant difference in the serum IL-6 level between YH and SH group at 12h and 24h(P<0.01) but no significant difference at 48h(P>0.05).YH group presented the same pathological changes as SH group under the observation of macroscopy,optical microscopy and electron microscopy,but both group showed obvious amelioration as compared with SAP group.Conclusion IL-6 can promote the onset of SAP.Yiyanheji and Sandostain may better treat SAP in rats,with one of the mechanisms of alleviating excessive inflammatory reaction by inhibiting the production of IL-6 or reducing its activity.