Anti-inflammatory Effects of Ziziphus Jujube Mill on LPS-induced Acute Lung Injury in Mice

Ziziphus Jujuba Mill (Z.J) is a well-known ethnomedical source of biologically active compounds with anti-inflammatory effects. However, its significance in acute lung injury (ALI) has never been studied. The present study aimed to explore whether Z.J could attenuate lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammatory responses in an experimental model of ALI. Male BALB/c mice received an intratracheal administration of LPS (n=32) or phosphate buffer saline (PBS) (control, n=8). Within 1, 11, and 23 h post-LPS injection, mice were randomly assigned to receive intraperitoneal treatments of saline, dexamethasone (2 mg/kg), and 100 and 200 mg/kg of Z.J extracts, respectively. 24 h after intratracheal administration of LPS, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and lung tissues were harvested and assessed for inflammatory cell influx, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) levels, and histological assessments. Treatment with Z.J extracts (100 and 200 mg/kg) and dexamethasone effectively reduced LPS-induced neutrophil and other inflammatory cell influx into the lung tissue compared to the untreated group. additionally, both doses of Z.J extracts (100 and 200 mg/kg) significantly ameliorated the lung wet-to-dry ratio and histopathological damage. Furthermore, compared to the untreated ALI mice, Z.J extract at the highest dose could significantly reduce the TNF-α level.   The present findings indicated that Z.J could effectively ameliorate LPS-induced ALI inflammatory responses and might be considered a promising alternative therapy for the ALI phenotype.

Ethanolic extract of Achillea wilhelmsii C. Koch improves pulmonary function and inflammation in LPS-induced acute lung injury mice

OBJECTIVES

Acute lung injury (ALI) is a life-threatening pulmonary dysfunction associated with severe inflammation. There are still no effective pharmacological therapies for the treatment of ALI. In this concern, several anti-inflammatory agents could be used as add-on therapy to inhibit inflammation. Achillea wilhelmsii (AW) C. Koch is a well-known medicinal plant in the Iranian ethnomedical practices with anti-inflammatory activity. This study was aimed to evaluate the efficacy of ethanolic extract of AW on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced ALI in mice.

METHODS

The ALI model was established via the intra-tracheal (i.t.) administration of LPS (2 mg/kg) to male BALB/c mice. The ALI mice were divided into four groups (n=8 each) which intra-peritoneally (i.p.) treated with repeated doses of saline (model), dexamethasone (2 mg/kg), and AW (150-300 mg/kg) 1, 11 and 23 h post LPS administration. Twenty-four hours after the LPS challenge, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and lung tissue were evaluated for inflammatory cell influx, level of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and histopathological changes.

RESULTS

The AW (150-300 mg/kg) treated mice showed lower inflammatory cells infiltration in BALF and TNF-α level when compared to the model group. In addition, LPS induced several pathological alterations such as edema, alveolar hemorrhage and inflammatory cell infiltration into the interstitium and alveolar spaces. Treatment with AW significantly reduced LPS-induced pathological injury.

CONCLUSIONS

Taken together, the data here indicated that AW may be considered as a promising add-on therapy for ALI.