The Hydroalcoholic Extract of Reduces Lung Inflammation and Oxidative Stress in an Ovalbumin-Induced Rat Model of Asthma.

BACKGROUND

Asthma is known as a disease that causes breathing problems in children and adults and is also associated with chronic inflammation and oxidative stress of the airways. () possesses a wide range of pharmacological properties, particularly anti-inflammation and antioxidant potentials. Thus, this study for the first time was aimed to investigate anti-inflammatory and antioxidative activities of extract () in an ovalbumin-induced rat model of asthma.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Forty-four male Wistar rats were sensitized with ovalbumin (OVA) to induce asthma symptoms. The animals were allocated into five groups: control (C), asthmatic (A), A +  (500 mg/kg), (500 mg/kg), and A + dexamethasone (DX, 2.5 mg/kg). After 7 days, blood and tissue samples were taken from the rats. Then, the level of inflammatory markers, oxidative stress parameters, and antioxidant enzymes activity were measured.

RESULTS

The obtained results showed that OVA-sensitive rats significantly increased the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1B, TGF-, and SMA- compared to the control group ( < 0.05), while treatment with remarkably reduced the SMA- gene expression compared to the asthma group ( < 0.05). Furthermore, it decreased the expression of IL-1B and TNF- genes, although it was not statistically significant. The level of glutathione peroxidase (GPX) significantly reduced in group compared to the group ( < 0.05), whereas administration significantly increased this marker ( < 0.05). Moreover, attenuated inflammation and alveolar injury in the lungs of OVA-sensitive rat compared to the nontreated group.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, our findings demonstrated that somewhat is able to reduce airway inflammation by reducing inflammatory and increasing GPX activity. Indeed, further experiments investigating the impact of different extract doses are needed to confirm the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of .