title: Effects of Qufeng Xuanfei decoction in animal model of post-infectious cough.
abstract: This study evaluated the effects and potential mechanisms of Qufeng Xuanfei decoction in animal model of post-infectious cough. Sixty SD rats were randomly divided into six groups (10 animals per group): control, disease model, low- (4.62 g kg(-1)), medium- (9.24 g kg(-1)), and high-dose (13.86 g kg(-1)) decoction, and positive treatment groups (dextromethorphan hydrobromide, 8 mL kg(-1)). To model post-infectious cough, all but control group animals were challenged with exposure to 50 g sawdust and 10 cigarette smokes for 30 min day(-1) for a total of 10 days, followed by subsequent exposures to lipopolysaccharide (20 µg) and capsaicin (10(-4) M) aerosols. The drugs were given by oral gavage for 15 days after which lung pathology, cell counts and cell differentials in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), and concentrations of neuropeptides [substance P (SP), neurokinins A (NKA) and B (NKB), and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP)] in BAL (ELISA) were assessed. Compared with control group animals, significant inflammation and damage to bronchial epithelium were observed in the disease model group. A marked decrease in BAL percentages of all types of inflammatory cells was observed in the decoction-treated groups, with most changes in the medium-dose decoction group (p < 0.001 vs. disease model group). Further, airway inflammation and damage, as well as the levels of SP, NKA, NKB, and CGRP in BAL decreased the most in the medium-dose group (p < 0.001 vs. disease model group). In conclusion, medium-dose Qufeng Xuanfei decoction efficiently decreases the levels of neuropeptides, attenuates airway inflammation, and promotes recovery from disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiration, Jiangsu Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, No. 155 Hanzhoung Road, Nanjing, 210029, Jiangsu, China, jsnjzj@163.com.
authors.forename: Zhu
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Feixia
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018893:Bronchoalveolar Lavage; D015740:Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide / Q000378:metabolism; D002452:Cell Count; D003371:Cough / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007239:Infections / Q000150:complications*; D008168:Lung / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D015288:Neurokinin A / Q000378:metabolism; D015287:Neurokinin B / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013373:Substance P / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; C000598607:qufeng xuanfei; D013373:Substance P; D015288:Neurokinin A; D015287:Neurokinin B; D015740:Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide