School of Traditional Chinese Materia Medica, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Wenhua Road 103, Shenyang, 110016, PR China.
School of Traditional Chinese Materia Medica, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Wenhua Road 103, Shenyang, 110016, PR China.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2024 Jan 10;318(Pt B):116986. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2023.116986. Epub 2023 Aug 2.
Artemisia argyi H.Lév. & Vaniot (AA) has been extensively utilized as an important medicine and food homology in China, Japan, Korea, and eastern parts of Russia, owing to its pharmacological effects, which include anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antitussive, and antiallergic properties. Despite the extract of AA can significantly alleviate gastric mucosal injury, its precise material basis for effectiveness is not yet clear. As one of the polymethoxy flavonoids with high content in AA, the gastroprotective activity and molecular mechanism of eupatilin (EUP) require further investigation.
This study aims to investigate the gastroprotective effects and possible mechanisms of EUP by using an ethanol-induced gastric mucosal injury model in rats.
EUP was isolated from 95% ethanol extract of AA using a systematic phytochemical method. The gastroprotective activity of EUP was evaluated using a male SD rat model with ethanol-induced gastric mucosa injury. Histopathology evaluation of gastric tissues was performed using hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining. The levels of cytokines in the plasma and tissues were tested using the ELISA kits, while western blot analysis was employed to assess the expressions of COX-2, iNOS, and NF-κB pathway proteins.
A sufficient amount of EUP was obtained from AA through chromatographic methods and identified by NMR experiment. In vivo, experimental results proved that EUP could significantly alleviate pathological features, increased SOD, GSH, and IL-10 levels, and decreased the contents of MDA, TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6. Further in vitro and in vivo Western blot experimental results showed that EUP significantly down-regulates the expressions of the NF-κB signal pathway to relieve inflammatory responses.
This study demonstrated that EUP could exert gastroprotective effects by inhibiting inflammation, enhancing gastric mucosal defense, and ameliorating oxidative stress, which is beneficial for providing scientific data for the development of gastric protection.
艾蒿（AA）作为一种重要的药食同源物，在中国、日本、韩国和俄罗斯东部地区被广泛应用，具有抗炎、抗菌、镇咳和抗过敏等药理作用。尽管 AA 的提取物可以显著缓解胃黏膜损伤，但它的确切药效物质基础尚不清楚。作为 AA 中含量较高的多甲氧基黄酮类化合物之一，对 eupatilin（EUP）的胃保护活性和分子机制需要进一步研究。
本研究旨在通过乙醇诱导的大鼠胃黏膜损伤模型，探讨 EUP 的胃保护作用及其可能机制。
采用系统的植物化学方法从 AA 的 95%乙醇提取物中分离 EUP。采用乙醇诱导的雄性 SD 大鼠模型评价 EUP 的胃保护活性。采用苏木精和伊红（H&E）染色对胃组织进行组织病理学评价。采用 ELISA 试剂盒检测血浆和组织中细胞因子的水平，采用 Western blot 分析评估 COX-2、iNOS 和 NF-κB 通路蛋白的表达。
通过色谱方法从 AA 中获得了足够量的 EUP，并通过 NMR 实验进行了鉴定。体内实验结果表明，EUP 可显著减轻病理特征，增加 SOD、GSH 和 IL-10 水平，降低 MDA、TNF-α、IL-1β 和 IL-6 的含量。进一步的体内外 Western blot 实验结果表明，EUP 可显著下调 NF-κB 信号通路的表达，从而缓解炎症反应。
本研究表明，EUP 通过抑制炎症、增强胃黏膜防御和改善氧化应激来发挥胃保护作用，这有助于为胃保护的开发提供科学数据。
