THE ANTIBACTERIAL EFFECT OF . FROMV GUANGXI ON MICE WITH PNEUMONIA.

BACKGROUND

Alcohol extract from the root of . (ULL) had broad spectrum antimicrobial activity. Studies have sho that ULL aqueous extract has antibacterial effect on , and the combination therapy of the ULL aqueous extract with cefazolin sodium showed additive effect.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The mice underwent nasal inhalation with , a subset of mice were intra-gastric gavage with ULL and/or intravenous injection cefazolin sodium twice daily. After being exposed to for 5 days, 10 days and 14 days respectively, the white blood cells count (WBC), neutrophils absolute value (NEU) and the neutrophil percentage (NEU%) in peripheral blood, as well as the levels of serum immunoglobulin (Ig) G and IgM were determined using commercial kits. The colony count of , the levels of interleukin (IL) -6 and IL-10 of mice lung tissue were detected, and the pathological changes of lung tissue were examined using H & E staining.

RESULTS

ULL significantly protected against pneumonia, as evidenced by the remarkable decrease in the rate of colony count/lung weight, WBC, NEU and NEU% in peripheral blood, as well as the attenuation of lung histopathological damage. Additionally, ULL+cefazolin could have markedly reduced the rate of colony count/lung weight when compared with cefazolin. Furthermore, ULL and ULL+cefazolin both could significantly decrease the serum levels of IgG and IgM, and the levels of IL-6, IL-10 in mice lung tissue.

CONCLUSION

This study first demonstrated that ULL may have potential use as a therapeutic agent for pneumonia, and the roles of IgG, IgM, IL-6 and IL-10 in ULL protection against pneumonia remain to be further studied.