HuChou San ameliorates symptoms of bromhidrosis via down-regulation of expressions of apolipoprotein D and androgen receptor genes

Purpose: To investigate the effect of HuChou San on bromhidrosis, and the mechanism of action involved. Methods: Patients with bromhidrosis (n = 49) were recruited over a year and 5 months period for this study and were randomly assigned to five groups: saponin group, Halite violaceous (HV) group, Rhizoma typhonii (RT) group, Impatiens balsam (IB) group, and HuChou San group. A sixth group comprised of healthy individuals (n = 9) served as control. The patients were treated with saponins, HV, RT, IB, or HuChou San once a day for 2 months. Fresh skin tissue from bilateral axilla was surgically collected from the patients or control, and used for assay of the expression of apolipoprotein D (ApoD) and androgen receptor (AR) mRNAs with real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Results: Treatment of bromhidrosis patients with saponins, HV, RT, IB or HuChou San powder led to significant reductions in the levels of expression of ApoD and AR mRNAs, when compared with the control group (p < 0.05). The expressions of these genes were significantly reduced in HuChou San-treated group, relative to the other treatment groups (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The results of this study show that HuChou San ameliorates symptoms of bromhidrosis via down-regulation of expressions of ApoD and AR genes.