In this study, the protective effects of red ginseng-derived crude saponin (CS) on DEHP-exacerbated atopic dermatitis (AD) were evaluated using a DNCB-induced BALB/c mouse model. AD was induced by repeated topical application of DNCB and mice were the...
In this study, the protective effects of red ginseng-derived crude saponin (CS) on DEHP-exacerbated atopic dermatitis (AD) were evaluated using a DNCB-induced BALB/c mouse model. AD was induced by repeated topical application of DNCB and mice were then exposed to low-dose DEHP as an environmental adjuvant while CS was topically applied at three doses (5, 15, 50 mg/kg). Clinical severity scores, histopathological changes in the skin, organ indices, leukocyte profiles and serum allergy-related mediators were assessed.
DEHP exposure aggravated DNCB-induced AD, as evidenced by increased erythema, edema, excoriation and scaling, together with significant epidermal and dermal thickening, elevated skin weight, spleen hypertrophy and enhanced infiltration and degranulation of mast cells and eosinophils. Serum histamine, IgE, IL-5 and TSLP levels were also increased and neutrophil and eosinophil proportions in peripheral blood were elevated, whereas lymphocyte proportions were decreased, indicating systemic Th2-skewed inflammatory activation. In contrast, CS treatment ameliorated these changes in a dose-dependent manner; particularly, the high-dose CS group showed marked reductions in clinical scores, skin and spleen indices, mast cell and eosinophil infiltration and degranulation, as well as significant decreases in serum histamine, IgE, IL-5 and TSLP, accompanied by normalization of neutrophil, eosinophil and lymphocyte distributions.
These findings suggest that environmental exposure to DEHP acts as an immunodisruptive adjuvant that exacerbates AD by amplifying Th2-driven inflammation and mast cell-mediated allergic responses, while red ginseng crude saponin exerts protective effects by modulating systemic immune activation and local skin inflammation. Therefore, crude saponin may represent a promising natural topical immunomodulator for preventing or attenuating AD exacerbated by continuous exposure to environmental endocrine-disrupting chemicals such as DEHP.