Eupatorium lindleyanum DC. sesquiterpenes fraction attenuates lipopolysaccharide-induced acute lung injury in mice.

BACKGROUND

Eupatorium lindleyanum DC. is widely used for its efficiency in treating cough, tracheitis and tonsillitis. Acute lung injury (ALI) induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in mice was used to investigate therapeutic effects and possible mechanism of the sesquiterpenes fraction of E. lindleyanum DC. (EUP-SQT).

METHODS

Mice were orally administrated with EUP-SQT (15, 30 and 60mg/kg) per day for 7 days consecutively before LPS challenge. The lung specimens and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were harvested for histopathological examinations and biochemical analysis at 6h and 24h after LPS challenge. The level of complement 3 (C3) and complement 3c (C3c) in serum was quantified by a sandwich ELISA kit.

RESULTS

Pretreatment with EUP-SQT could significantly decrease lung wet-to-dry weight (W/D) ratio, nitric oxide (NO) and protein concentration in BALF, which was exhibited together with the lowered myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity, the increased superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and down-regulation the level of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) in ALI model. Additionally, EUP-SQT attenuated lung histopathological changes and significantly reduced complement deposition with decreasing the level of C3 and C3c in serum.

CONCLUSIONS

These results showed that EUP-SQT significantly attenuated LPS-induced ALI via reducing productions of pro-inflammatory mediators and decreasing the level of complement, indicating it as a potential therapeutic agent for ALI.