Abstract: Objective To investigate the synergistic therapeutic effect of Artemisiae Argyi Folium water extract and tea water extract on a rat model of skin infection and related mechanism.Methods The experiment was divided into two parts.In the first part,model rats of skin infection were randomly divided into model group,Western medicine group,Artemisiae Argyi Fo-lium water extract group,tea water extract group,2∶1 group(a mass ratio of 2∶1 for Artemisiae Argyi Folium water extract and tea water extract),1∶1 group(a mass ratio of 1∶1 for Artemisiae Argyi Folium water extract and tea water extract),and 1∶2 group(a mass ratio of 1∶2 for Artemisiae Argyi Folium water extract and tea water extract),with 7 rats in each group.Wound area was compared between these groups before and after treatment,and ELISA was used to measure the serum levels of tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α),interleukin-1β(IL-1β),and interleukin-18(IL-18).In the second part,7 rats were ran-domly selected as normal group,and the model rats of skin infection were randomly divided into model group and 2∶1 group(a mass ratio of 2∶1 for Artemisiae Argyi Folium water extract and tea water extract),with 7 rats in each group.Western blot was used to measure the protein expression levels of absent in melanoma 2(AIM2),apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing CARD(ASC),and caspase-1 in the skin tissue of rats in each group,and ELISA was used to measure the serum levels of AIM2,ASC,caspase-1,IL-1β,and IL-18.Results In the first part of the experiment,compared with the model group,the Western medicine group,the Artemisiae Argyi Folium water extract group,the tea water extract group,and the three groups with different ratios of Artemisiae Argyi Folium water extract and tea water extract had marked shrinkage of in-fected wound and significant reductions in wound area and the expression levels of the proinflammatory factors TNF-α,IL-1 β,and IL-18(P<0.05),and among these groups,the Western medicine group and the 2∶1 group showed a more obvious effect,with no significant differences in the levels of the proinflammatory factors TNF-α and IL-1β between the two groups(P>0.05).In the second part of the experiment,compared with the normal group,the model group had significant increases in the protein expression levels of AIM2,ASC,and caspase-1 in infected wound tissue and the serum levels of IL-1 and IL-18(P<0.05).Compared with the model group,the 2∶1 group had significant reductions in the protein expression levels of AIM2,ASC,and caspase-1 in infected wound tissue and the serum levels of IL-1 and IL-18(P<0.05).Conclusion Artemisiae Argyi Folium water extract and tea water extract have a synergistic effect in the treatment of rats with skin infection,and the ratio of 2∶1 is the optimal ratio for Artemisiae Argyi Folium water extract and tea water extract.The synergistic mechanism may be associated with AIM2 inflammasome activation and the pyroptosis pathway.