Anti-inflammatory actions of herbal medicines in a model of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease induced by cigarette smoke

Abstract

The effects of four medicinal herbs (Arctium lappa, Plantago major, Mikania glomerata Spreng and Equisetum arvense) with anti-inflammatory properties were evaluated in a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) model. Wistar rats were exposed to cigarette smoke during 8 weeks and one of the groups was orally given a solution containing 4% of each alcoholic herbal extracts during the exposure period. Control group was not exposed to smoke or treated. Histopathological, immunohistochemical and biochemical analyzes were performed. Normal blood plasma levels of gamma glutamyl transferase indicated no toxicity of the administered herbal extracts. The treatment reduced leukocytes influx in bronchoalveolar lavage, mast cell and macrophages numbers in lungs, as well as prevented pulmonary congestion and tracheal metaplasia. Herbal mixture also decreased plasma inflammatory mediator levels and pulmonary expression of annexin A1 and nuclear factor-k?. Our data indicate synergistic and protective effects of the used herbal medicines in animals exposed to cigarette smoke as a potential therapeutic strategy.

Mimetic peptide AC2-26 of annexin A1 as a potential therapeutic agent to treat COPD

“…The equipment consists of an animal containment system and a cigarette smoke release system with an external cigarette holder connected to a dynamic suction pump. The pump can be programmed so that cigarette suction periods alternate with periods of clean air suction to prevent asphyxiation [32,33] (Supplementary Video 1). The exposures were standardized and performed twice a day using commercial cigarettes (containing 0.8 mg of nicotine, 10 mg of tar and 10 mg of carbon monoxide).…”

“…The exposures were standardized and performed twice a day using commercial cigarettes (containing 0.8 mg of nicotine, 10 mg of tar and 10 mg of carbon monoxide). The animals were exposed to the burning of 10 cigarettes in the morning (7 a.m) and 10 cigarettes in the early evening (6 p.m.) [11,33], each exposure lasted approximately 1 h. The total exposure period was 5 uninterrupted weeks (35 days).…”

“…The anti-inflammatory efficacy of Ac2-26 the AnxA1 mimetic peptide (Ac-AMVSEFLKQAWFIENEEQEYVQTVK, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Grand Island, NY, USA) in protecting against inflammatory processes caused by exposure to tobacco smoke was evaluated in one of the smoke-exposed groups (n = 10) by the intraperitoneal (ip) administration of Ac2-26 at the dosage of 1 mg/kg in 100 μL of phosphate buffered (PBS) solution [28][29][30][31][32][33], once a day and before the first exposure to cigarette smoke. The treatment protocol started along with the protocol of exposure to cigarette smoke and had the same duration of 5 weeks.…”

“…The control group (n = 10) was kept in the same conditions but exposed only to compressed air, it was neither exposed to cigarette smoke nor treated [33]. The day after the end of the exposure protocol, the animals were euthanized by excessive dose of anesthetic (thiopental).…”

“…Substrate diaminobenzidine (DAB Kit, Invitrogen, Cat No: P00-2020) was used for development and, thereafter, the sections were stained with Hematoxylin. Proteins were quantified by densitometry (arbitrary units 0 to 255) using the Leica Image Analysis Software [27,33,35]. The lung macrophages were quantified in 10 random images per slide under the 40× objective of the Leica microscope (DM500) and the tissue areas were obtained in the image analyzer.…”