Abstract: Objective To investigate the mechanism of Liang Xue Huo Xue Tang in the treatment of psoriasis vulgaris.Methods 45 cases of psoriasis vulgaris classified as blood heat type according to TCM differentiation-types were studied. Serum levels of VEGF in patients and normal controls were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)before and 2, 4 weeks after treatment.Results Compared with the data of normal controls, the serum levels of VEGF in patients were significantly increased (P<0.001), While a significant difference of the serum levels of VEGF in patients was observed between the per and post treatment (P<0.01). At the end of the 4 weeks treatment, the serum levels of VEGF in patients were returned to normal range.Conclusion These results indicated that Liang Xue Huo Xue Tang could reduced the serum levels of VEGF in patients with psoriasis vulgaris, this study suggested that suppression of angiogenesis may be one of the mechanism of Liang Xue Huo Xue Tang in the treatment of psoriasis vulgaris.

Key words: Liang Xue Huo Xue Tang, psoriasis, VEGF, angiogenesis