Abstract
Acute lung injury (ALI) is a life-threatening clinical syndrome with high morbidity and mortality. The main pathological features of ALI are increased alveolar-capillary membrane permeability, edema, uncontrolled migration of neutrophils to the lungs, and diffuse alveolar damage, resulting in acute hypoxemic respiratory failure. Glucocorticoids, aspirin, and other anti-inflammatory drugs are commonly used to treat ALI. Respiratory supports, such as a ventilator, are used to alleviate hypoxemia. Many treatment methods are available, but they cannot significantly ameliorate the quality of life of patients with ALI and reduce mortality rates. Herbal active ingredients, such as flavonoids, terpenoids, saponins, alkaloids, and quinonoids, exhibit advantages for ALI prevention and treatment, but the underlying mechanism needs further study. This paper summarizes the role of herbal active ingredients in anti-ALI therapy and progresses in the understanding of their mechanisms. The work also provides some references and insights for the discovery and development of novel drugs for ALI prevention and treatment.
Highlights
Acute lung injury (ALI) is a common clinical syndrome with high morbidity and mortality and is caused by various pathological and structural changes due to direct and indirect injury factors in lung tissues
The results indicated that tanshinone IIA exerted a therapeutic effect on ALI rats by decreasing the levels of Ang-(1-7) and angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) in the lungs
Under ALI, neutrophils, macrophages, vascular endothelial cells, and many other immune cells are activated in the body to release a series of inflammatory mediators, leading to an uncontrolled systemic inflammatory response [1]
Summary
Acute lung injury (ALI) is a common clinical syndrome with high morbidity and mortality and is caused by various pathological and structural changes due to direct and indirect injury factors in lung tissues. The pathological feature of this disease is damage to alveolar epithelial and microvascular endothelial cells. The former can cause edema in the alveolar cavity, exudation of fibrin and collagen, and aggregation of neutrophils, eventually leading to lung consolidation. Anti-inflammatory drugs, such as glucocorticoids and aspirin, are commonly used in clinics. Respiratory support, such as ventilators, is employed to relieve hypoxemia. The activities of active ingredients from herbs in preventing and treating ALI have been recently explored. These substances show a broad application prospect. For the collection of relevant information, reviews and single publications were searched on PubMed, BioMed Research International
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