Background: Patchouli alcohol (PA), a natural compound isolated from Pogostemon cablin, has been reported to possess anti-inflammatory activity. However, the effects of PA on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced acute lung injury (ALI) have not yet been studied. In the present study, we investigated in vivo the effect of PA on ALI induced by LPS.
Methods: Mice were administrated intranasally with LPS to induce lung injury. PA was administrated intraperitoneally 1 h before or after the LPS challenge.
Results: The results showed that PA significantly decreased the wet-to-dry weight ratio of lungs and the number of total cells, neutrophils, and macrophages in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid at 7 h after the LPS challenge. In addition, PA also suppressed the production of inflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1β, and interleukin-6 in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. Furthermore, Western blot analysis showed that PA inhibited the phosphorylation of IκB-α and p65 nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) induced by LPS.
Conclusions: Our results suggest that the anti-inflammatory effects of PA against LPS-induced ALI may be due to its ability to inhibit NF-κB signaling pathways.
Keywords: Acute lung injury; LPS; NF-κB; Patchouli alcohol.
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