Korean J Asthma Allergy Clin Immunol.  2010 Mar;30(1):36-42.

The Effect of the Extracts of Taraxacum platycarpum (AF-343) in Atopic Dermatitis

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Taraxacum platycarpum has been investigated for its antiallergic activity in bronchial asthma, but few studies have been conducted to evaluate its efficacy for the treatment of atopic dermatitis (AD).
OBJECTIVE
This study was designed to evaluate the efficacy of the extracts of Taraxacum platycarpum (AF-343) for the treatment of AD. Method: Seventy-five patients with AD were randomly assigned either to a low-dose, high-dose or control groups. AF-343 and placebo were ingested for 8 weeks. The SCORing Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD) scores, skin hydration, transepidermal water loss (TEWL), eosinophil, total IgE, eosinophil catinonic protein and cytokines were measured before and at the end of treatment. RESULT: A significant reduction in the SCORAD scores at the end of treatment were observed in the control, low-dose and high-dose groups when compared with the initial scores (P=0.028, P<0.001 and P<0.001, respectively). High-dose treatment increased the skin hydration (P=0.013), but no significant change was observed in the low-dose and control groups (P=0.056 and P=0.624, respectively). The low-dose and high-dose treatment groups showed a significant reduction of TEWL from baseline (P=0.002 and P=0.031, respectively). High-dose treatment induced an increase in eotaxin and a decrease in IL-5 (P=0.021 and P=0.028, respectively).
CONCLUSION
These results show that AF-343 treatment can improve the severity and skin hydration in patients with mild AD.

MeSH Terms

Asthma
Cytokines
Dermatitis, Atopic
Eosinophils
Humans
Immunoglobulin E
Interleukin-5
Skin
Taraxacum
Cytokines
Immunoglobulin E
Interleukin-5