Ameliorating effects of traditional Chinese medicine on lipopolysaccharide -induced microcirculatory disturbances and organ injury.

Gram-negative bacteria are one of the major pathogens associated with severe sepsis and septic shock. LPS is a component of the outer membrane of gram-negative bacteria, which causes a systemic, uncontrolled inflammatory response in infected subjects. In microcirculation it manifests multiple insults, including leukocyte and platelet adhesion, ROS and protease overproduction, mast cell degranulation, endothelium hyperpermeabilty, hemorrhage, and microthrombi formation, ultimately results in multiorgan dysfunction, DIC, refractory shock and even death. TCM has been used in China, Korea, Japan and other Asian countries for treatment of a wide range of diseases. In China, the usage of compound traditional preparation to treat inflammation-related diseases dates back to the Han Dynasty and the medical formulary had been developed thousands of years before, which recorded a great number of classical prescriptions for treatment with infectious diseases. This review will summarize the up to date works with respect to the ameliorating effects of compound and single traditional Chinese medicine and active components on LPS-induced inflammation, including clinical trial and experimental studies regarding multiorgan injury and underlying mechanisms.