[The experimental study of garlicin in treating Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia in rats].

OBJECTIVE: To assess the therapeutic effect of garlicin on Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) of immunosuppressed rats. METHODS: The Wistar rats were injected intramuscularly continually with dexamethasone for eight weeks to establish the rat model of PCP. The rats were treated with garlicin, meanwhile control groups without treatment and with SMZ-TMP treatment were established respectively in PCP model. The efficacy was evaluated based on the lung weight, lung/body weight ratio and mean cyst number per 100 fields in lung print smear. RESULTS: The mean lung weight of the rats in garlicin is 1.73 +/- 0.17, lung/body weight ratio is 0.84 +/- 0.12, they are obvious lower than 2.31 +/- 0.35 and 1.25 +/- 0.35 of control (P <0.01). The numbers of cysts in lung print smear is reduced 62.9% compared with control. The results is similar to that with SMZ-TMP. CONCLUSION: Garlicin shows an obvious therapeutic effect on Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia in rats with an efficacy similar to that with SMZ-TMP.