Effect of Topical Antisepsis Agents on the Release of Prostaglandin-Like Activity from Skin Wounds in Guinea Pigs and Rabbits

Abstract

The effect of repeated topical administration of four common antisepsis agents on guinea pig and rabbit dorsal skin was studied. Release of prostaglandin-like activity (PGLA) from strips of control and treated skin was compared using a sensitive and selective bioassay procedure. Increased release of PGLA of which a major component was PGE2-like in biological activity was paralleled by histological changes characteristic of inflammation. Benzalkonium chloride (80 μg/cm2), cetrimide (800 μg/cm2), and chloroxylenol (1 mg/cm2) all caused significant increases in PGLA release from guinea pig skin when administered five times in 2 days or nine times in 3 days. Chlorhexidine gluconate (400 μg/cm2), however, did not increase PGLA release even when administered nine times in 3 days. The release of PGLA from skin following application of topical disinfectants is compared with reports of similar effects in man and the possible value of this method as a screening procedure is discussed.