Taraxacum officinale protects against lipopolysaccharide-induced acute lung injury in mice.
OBJECTIVE
Taraxacum officinale has been frequently used as a remedy for inflammatory diseases. In the present study, we investigated the in vivo protective effect of Taraxacum officinale on acute lung injury (ALI) induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in mice.


METHODS
Taraxacum officinale at 2.5, 5 and 10 mg/kg was orally administered once per day for 5 days consecutively, followed by 500 microg/kg LPS was instilled intranasally. The lung wet/dry weight (W/D) ratio, protein concentration and the number of inflammatory cells in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were determined. Superoxidase dismutase (SOD) and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activities, and histological change in the lungs were examined. The levels of inflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in the BALF were measured using ELISA.


RESULTS
We found that Taraxacum officinale decreased the lung W/D ratio, protein concentration and the number of neutrophils in the BALF at 24 h after LPS challenge. Taraxacum officinale decreased LPS-induced MPO activity and increased SOD activity in the lungs. In addition, histopathological examination indicated that Taraxacum officinale attenuated tissue injury of the lungs in LPS-induced ALI. Furthermore, Taraxacum officinale also inhibited the production of inflammatory cytokines TNF-alpha and IL-6 in the BALF at 6h after LPS challenge in a dose-dependent manner.


CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that Taraxacum officinale protects against LPS-induced ALI in mice.
Department of Animal Medicine, Agricultural College of Yanbian University, Longjing, Jilin, PR China.
Liben
L
Liu
Huanzhang
H
Xiong
Jiaqi
J
Ping
Yulin
Y
Ju
Xuemei
X
Zhang
D055371:Acute Lung Injury / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000284:Administration, Oral; D000818:Animals; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001992:Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D018836:Inflammation Mediators / Q000378:metabolism; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000378:metabolism; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D008168:Lung / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D009195:Peroxidase / Q000378:metabolism; D028321:Plant Preparations / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011654:Pulmonary Edema / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000517:prevention & control; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000378:metabolism; D031205:Taraxacum; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000378:metabolism
D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D018836:Inflammation Mediators; D015850:Interleukin-6; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D028321:Plant Preparations; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; C482199:lipopolysaccharide, E coli O55-B5; D009195:Peroxidase; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase