Ayurvedic herbal formulations Haridra Khanda and Manjisthadi Kwath (brihat) in the management of allergic rhinitis: A pharmacological study

This study aims to pharmacologically validate Haridra Khanda (HK) and Manjishthadi Kwatham (brihat) (MMK) in allergy management using invivo and invitro studies to rationalize the prescription of these two ayurvedic polyherbal drug formulations, which are currently used in Indian government hospitals. Experimental animals received HK and MMK orally from day 0 to day 14 and histamine (1 mg/kg b.w/i.v) and 1 % evans blue (EB) (0.1 mL) via tail vein on day 14. The compound 48/80 (intracutaneous) challenged mice model followed the same technique. The former mimicked acute anaphylaxis and the latter mast cell degranulation. For both models, EB dye leakage was quantified spectrophotometrically to determine vascular permeability. Plasma histamine was measured in Compound 48/80-induced animals using LC-ESI-MS/MS. The guineapig received HK and MMK p.o. and 0.6 % histamine sprayed in a histamine chamber to simulate allergic rhinitis. Blood eosinophil count and sneeze rate were measured in histamine-challenged guineapigs. Goat R.B.C. membrane stability assay (mammalian cell membrane toxicity) and intracellular histamine-induced cytosolic Ca²⁺ release assay in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells were performed in vitro. For both histamine and Compound 48/80 challenged animals, HK (22.81 % and 14.58 %) and MMK (19.71 % and 22.40 %) significantly reduced EB dye leakage (p < 0.05). Both formulations, HK and MMK considerably (p < 0.05) decreased plasma histamine (29.62 % and 25.37 % respectively) in mice and eosinophilic count (11.56 % and 9.94 % respectively) and sneeze rate (42.58 % and 29.03 % respectively) in guinea pigs. In membrane stability experiment, HK and MMK reduced RBC lysis. Both HK and MMK raw/dialysate blocked CHO cell cytosolic Ca²⁺ release. HK and MMK activities mimic mast cell stabilization with possible H1 receptor inactivation seen by decreased Ca²⁺ efflux and thus indicate potential for allergic rhinitis management. The combination of activities is usually related with curative and prophylactic therapy and might lead future clinical trials and therapies.