Preventive and Therapeutic Effects of Thymol in a Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Acute Lung Injury Mice Model

Abstract

Acute lung injury (ALI) is a life-threatening syndrome which causes a high mortality rate worldwide. In traditional medicine, lots of aromatic plants-such as some Thymus species-are used for treatment of various lung diseases including pertussis, bronchitis, and asthma. Thymol, one of the primary active constituent derived from Thymus vulgaris (thyme), has been reported to exhibit potent anti-microbial, anti-oxidant, and anti-inflammatory activities in vivo and in vitro. The present study aims to investigate the protective effects of thymol in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced lung injury mice model. In LPS-challenged mice, treatment with thymol (100 mg/kg) before or after LPS challenge significantly improved pathological changes in lung tissues. Thymol also inhibited the LPS-induced inflammatory cells influx, TNF-α and IL-6 releases, and protein concentration in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). Additionally, thymol markedly inhibited LPS-induced elevation of MDA and MPO levels, as well as reduction of SOD activity. Further study demonstrated that thymol effectively inhibited the NF-κB activation in the lung. Taken together, these results suggested that thymol might be useful in the therapy of acute lung injury.

Ethanolic Extract of Moringa oleifera Leaves Influences NF-κB Signaling Pathway to Restore Kidney Tissue from Cobalt-Mediated Oxidative Injury and Inflammation in Rats

“…β-Caryophyllene, a bicyclic sesquiterpene, has been reported to exert an anti-inflammatory activity, as it inhibited mRNA expression of iNOS, IL-1β, IL-6, and Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in C6 microglial cells [90]. Moreover, previous studies have stated that thymol can elicit an anti-inflammatory action by suppressing pro-inflammatory signaling pathways and transcription factors such as p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK), signal transducer and activator of transcription3 (STAT-3), NF-κB and activator protein-1 (AP-1), and TLR4-mediated Ras homolog family member A (RhoA)-dependent NF-κB in LPS-induced inflammation [91][92][93].…”

Medicinal Plants of the Family Lamiaceae in Pain Therapy: A Review

“…By inhibiting, in vivo , TNF- α , lipopolysaccharide inflammatory induced cell influx, IL-6, protein concentration in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, and NF-κB activation in the lung, thymol could be a promising therapeutical agent for acute lung injury [ 112 ].…”

Thymol alleviates AGEs-induced podocyte injury by a pleiotropic effect via NF-κB-mediated by RhoA/ROCK signalling pathway

“…It is widely used because it possesses pharmacologically relevant antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antifungal, and antiseptic properties [15]. Relevant studies have revealed that thymol can exert an anti-inflammatory action by suppressing pro-inflammatory signalling pathways and transcription factors such as p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK), signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT-3), NF-κB and activator protein-1 (AP-1) in LPS-induced inflammation [16][17][18][19][20]. In our previous research, we found for the first time that thymol inhibits the inflammatory response induced by LPS in HMrSV5 cells through the TLR4-mediated RhoAdependent NF-κB signalling pathway [21].…”