Department of Internal Medicine, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan.
Phytomedicine. 2012 Oct 15;19(13):1206-15. doi: 10.1016/j.phymed.2012.07.013. Epub 2012 Aug 23.
Moutan cortex radicis (MCR) is a Chinese herbal medicine that was widely used over a long period as an analgesic, antipyretic, and anti-inflammatory agent in China. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced acute lung injury (ALI) in rat models is considered similar to adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in humans. Therefore, the present study investigates the effect of MCR on ALI. The ALI model was developed through the intra-tracheal (IT) administration of LPS (16mg/kg) to Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats, which formed the LPS group. MCR was orally administered before and after LPS was introduced into rats (MCR-LPS group and LPS-MCR group, respectively). In the MCR-LPS group, rats received MCR 2g/kg/times 3 times before LPS challenge; the LPS-MCR group received MCR 2g/kg/times 3 times after LPS challenge. The results of this experiment indicate that the number of total cells and neutrophils and the concentration of protein exudation in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) significantly decreased in the MCR-LPS group. Cytokine levels, including levels of interleukin (IL)-1β, macrophage-inflammatory peptide (MIP)-2, IL-6, and IL-10, in BALF were also significantly inhibited at 16h after LPS administration in the MCR-LPS group. Myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity in lung tissue was reduced in the MCR-LPS and LPS-MCR groups at 16h after LPS administration. Furthermore, leukocyte infiltration and protein exudation in the alveolar space were less severe in the MCR-LPS group than in the LPS group. Therefore, the findings of this study suggest that the administration of MCR prior to LPS improves ALI, possibly mediating ALI through anti-inflammation.
牡丹皮（MCR）是一种中草药，在中国被广泛用作镇痛、解热和抗炎剂已有很长一段时间。脂多糖（LPS）诱导的大鼠急性肺损伤（ALI）模型被认为类似于人类的成人呼吸窘迫综合征（ARDS）。因此，本研究调查了 MCR 对 ALI 的影响。通过气管内（IT）给予 LPS（16mg/kg）建立 ALI 模型，形成 LPS 组。MCR 在 LPS 引入大鼠前后进行口服给药（MCR-LPS 组和 LPS-MCR 组）。在 MCR-LPS 组中，大鼠在 LPS 攻击前接受 MCR 2g/kg/次 3 次；在 LPS-MCR 组中，大鼠在 LPS 攻击后接受 MCR 2g/kg/次 3 次。该实验结果表明，MCR-LPS 组大鼠的总细胞和中性粒细胞数量以及支气管肺泡灌洗液（BALF）中蛋白渗出物的浓度均显著降低。在 LPS 给药后 16 小时，MCR-LPS 组 BALF 中的细胞因子水平（包括白细胞介素（IL）-1β、巨噬细胞炎症肽（MIP）-2、IL-6 和 IL-10）也明显受到抑制。在 LPS 给药后 16 小时，MCR-LPS 和 LPS-MCR 组肺组织髓过氧化物酶（MPO）活性降低。此外，与 LPS 组相比，MCR-LPS 组肺泡空间的白细胞浸润和蛋白渗出物较少。因此，本研究结果表明，MCR 在 LPS 给药前给药可改善 ALI，可能通过抗炎作用介导 ALI。
