Objective: To investigate the therapeutic effects of dexamethasone, anisodamine and rhubarb (DAR) on endotoxin, tumor necrosis factor-a (TNF-a), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and pancreatic damage in rat models of acute pancreatitis (AP). Methods: The AP rat models were prepared and randomly assigned to AP group (n=10) and DAR group (n=10), while other healthy rats were assigned to the sham-operated group (n=10). The rats were euthanized at 6 h after operation, and then the serum levels of endotoxin, TNF-a, IL-6 and histology of pancreas were determined as the indexes of therapeutic effects. Results: At 6 h after operation, serum levels of endotoxin, TNF-a and IL-6, and pancreatic damage were significantly increased in AP group compared with those in sham-operated group (P