P-Coumaric Acid, a Major Active Compound of Bambusae Caulis in Taeniam, Suppresses Cigarette Smoke-Induced Pulmonary Inflammation

Abstract

[Formula: see text]-coumaric acid ([Formula: see text]-CA) is a common compound found in medicinal herbs, including Bambusae Caulis in Taeniam (BC). It has been used to treat various diseases in China and Korea. Our previous study demonstrated that BC inhibits pulmonary and intestinal inflammation. In the present study, we used cigarette smoke (CS) to induce lung inflammation in vivo, and investigated the anti-inflammatory effects of [Formula: see text]-CA on CS-induced inflammatory mice model. Mice were treated with BC and [Formula: see text]-CA via oral injection 2[Formula: see text]h before CS exposure. The body weight and the inflammatory cells in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid were measured. The levels of relative inflammatory factors were confirmed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The lung histological changes were examined by hematoxylin and eosin staining. Also, the protein level of nuclear factor-[Formula: see text]B (NF-[Formula: see text]B) was evaluated by Western blotting. Our results indicated that BC and [Formula: see text]-CA inhibited CS-induced lung inflammation by regulating pro-inflammatory productions such as cytokines, chemokine, protease and NF-[Formula: see text]B. Consequently, these data demonstrated that [Formula: see text]-CA inhibited pulmonary inflammation by suppressing NF-[Formula: see text]B activity, through which pro-inflammatory mediators were regulated. Therefore, [Formula: see text]-CA, which was shown to be a major component of BC, can be considered as a strong therapeutic candidate for treating pulmonary inflammatory diseases.