Saururus chinensis water-extract effectively controls asthma by ameliorating of Th1/Th2 imbalance and suppressing of NF-κB/COX-2/PGE2-related inflammation

Abstract

Asthma is an incurable chronic inflammatory pulmonary hyperresponsiveness. As current medications have many adverse effects, the development of new drugs is required. To define the anti-asthmatic effect of Saururus chinensis, animal and RAW264.7 cell models were used. Histopathological evaluation such as H&E and PAS staining; inflammatory cell analysis, such as cell count using equipment and Diff-Quick staining; serum IgE measurement; and asthma/inflammation-related proteins evaluation via RT-PCR, immunofluorescence, ELISA, immunohistochemistry, and western blotting were conducted. In animal study, S. chinensis prevented asthmatic pulmonary changes, such as epithelial cells hyperplasia, inflammatory cells increment, and mucous hypersecretion; controlled Th2 cell-related cytokines (IL-4 and IL-5) including GATA-3 and blocked inflammation occurrence via NF-κB/COX-2/PGE2 pathway. The anti-inflammatory effects and pathways of S. chinensis were confirmed in a cell-based study. Asthma is caused by both Th1/Th2 imbalance and inflammation and as S. chinensis effectively prevents the occurrence of asthma, it should be considered an anti-asthmatic candidate.