Abstract: Objective To investigate therapeutic mechanism of a Chinese medicine decoction for urticaria. Methods Mastocyte degranulation test and passive skin allergy test were conducted in animal model. A sandwich ELISA technique was applied to detect serum IL-2 and IL-4 in patients with acute urticaria before and after oral administration of the decoction. Results Significant inhibition of mastocyte degranulation was found in mice taken the decoction in comparison with controls. There were significantly increased level of IL-2 and reduced level of IL-4 in sera of patients with acute urticaria. Serum levels of IL-2 and IL-4 recovered to normal in patients after taking the decoction. Conclusion The Chinese medicine decoction appears to stabilize the membrane of mastocytes and inhibit antigen-antibody binding. The decoction is also likely to adjust serum levels of IL-2 and IL-4 to normal.

Key words: pharmacotherapy,TCD, Urticaria, Interleukin-2, Interleukin-4