Abstract
Purpose: To study the therapeutic effects of imperatorin (IPT) on allergic asthma induced by ovalbumin in rats.Methods: Asthma was established in rats by injection of ovalbumin (OVA), and IPT (20, 40 and 80 mg/kg) was administered orally for 21 days. Inflammatory cells and cytokines were determined in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF); IgE and histamine in the serum were also determined. Furthermore, MUC-5AC expression in the lung tissue was determined by Western blot assay.Results: Treatment with IPT (20, 40 and 80 mg/kg) decreased inflammatory cells including eosinophils (p < 0.01), neutrophils (p < 0.05), lymphocytes (p < 0.01) and macrophages (p < 0.01). In addition, the four inflammatory cytokines {interleukin (IL) -4, IL-6, IL-13 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α} were significantly decreased by treatment with IPT (20, 40 and 80 mg/kg) dose-dependently (p < 0.01). Furthermore, MUC5AC in lung tissues was significantly down-regulated by treatment with IPT (20, 40 and 80 mg/kg, p < 0.01) in a dose-dependent fashion.Conclusion: The results show that IPT exerts notable therapeutic effects on allergic asthma in rats via suppression of IgE, histamine, inflammatory cells and cytokines, and also by down-regulating MUC5AC.Keywords: Imperatorin, Allergic asthma, Inflammatory cytokines, MUC5AC expression, Eosinophils, Neutrophils, Lymphocytes
Highlights
In recent years, allergic asthma with an incidence rate of 4.3 % in the world has become a common disease affecting the normal life of millions of children and adults [1,2]
In order to determine the inhibitory effects of IPT on airway inflammatory reactions in the development of allergic asthma, we analysed the four inflammatory cells in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) including eosinophils, neutrophils, lymphocytes and macrophages
The results showed that IPT inhibited IgE, histamine, and inflammatory cells and cytokines in OVA-challenged rats, as well as down-regulated MUC5AC expression in lung tissue
Summary
Allergic asthma with an incidence rate of 4.3 % in the world has become a common disease affecting the normal life of millions of children and adults [1,2]. In this study, the therapeutic effect of IPT on allergic asthma was evaluated based on an ovalbumin (OVA) -induced asthma model in rats, and its pharmacological mechanisms were explored. Rats in the control and IPT groups received an airway challenge with 1 % (w/v) OVA solution for 20 min using an ultrasonic nebulizer (Yuyao 402A, Nanking, China) from day 17 to day 21 after the initial sensitization. U.S.A. BCA protein assay reagent and horseradish peroxidase-conjugated secondary antibody were purchased from Beyotime, Nanking, China. The supernatants of the BALF were obtained and the levels of inflammatory cytokines in BALF including TNF-α, IL-4, IL-6 and IL-13 were determined using commercial ELISA kits according to the manufacturer’s instructions. P < 0.05 was set as the significance level
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
