title: Preventive effects of Ecliptae Herba extract and its component, ecliptasaponin A, on bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis in mice.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Ecliptae Herba, a nourishing traditional Chinese medicine, is also a folk medicine for the treatment of lung diseases.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the anti-fibrosis effects and the underlying mechanism of the extract of Ecliptae Herba and its potential active components.
  
  
  METHODS
  The resulting extract (EXT) was prepared from the 80% ethanol extract of Ecliptae Herba. After intratracheally administrated with bleomycin (BLM, 5mg/kg), mice were orally treated with EXT at 2.5, 1.25, 0.625 g/kg and eclipta saponin A (ESA) at 80 mg/kg once daily for 28 day. The bodyweight, survival rate, pathological changes of lung and levels of hydroxyproline (HYP) were used to evaluate the anti-fibrotic effects. The malonaldehyde (MDA), superoxidae dismutase (SOD) activity, and the protein expressions of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2, 9, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) in lung tissue were analyzed by kits or western blot.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with BLM group, EXT administration could significantly ameliorated the pathological changes of lung, decreased the HYP content, enhanced the SOD activity, and reduced the MDA content of lung tissues. In mechanism, EXT significantly alleviated the levels of COX-2, TGF-β1, MMP-2 and α-SMA, as well as elevated the ratio value of MMP-9/TIMP-1. Additionally, the anti-fibrosis effects of ESA, a large amount of saponins isolated from Eclipta prostrata , was also evaluated by the BLM-induced model. The results showed that ESA could block BLM-induced histological changes of lung tissue and decrease the high levels of TGF-β1 and α-SMA.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Ecliptae Herba has protective effects against the pulmonary fibrosis induced by BLM via reducing the oxidative stress, lung tissue inflammation, and the subsequent epithelial-mesenchymal transition. The active chemical constituents may be involved with triterpenoid saponins, such as ESA.
authors.affiliation: Research Department of Pharmacognosy, China Pharmaceutical University, 639 Longmian Road, Nanjing 211198, PR China.
authors.forename: Xin-Yi
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: You
authors.affiliation: Research Department of Pharmacognosy, China Pharmaceutical University, 639 Longmian Road, Nanjing 211198, PR China.
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Xue
authors.affiliation: Research Department of Pharmacognosy, China Pharmaceutical University, 639 Longmian Road, Nanjing 211198, PR China.
authors.forename: Yue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.affiliation: Research Department of Pharmacognosy, China Pharmaceutical University, 639 Longmian Road, Nanjing 211198, PR China.
authors.forename: Qianyu
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Research Department of Pharmacognosy, China Pharmaceutical University, 639 Longmian Road, Nanjing 211198, PR China. Electronic address: njchaofeng@126.com.
authors.forename: Chao Feng
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Research Department of Pharmacognosy, China Pharmaceutical University, 639 Longmian Road, Nanjing 211198, PR China.
authors.forename: Ceng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Research Department of Pharmacognosy, China Pharmaceutical University, 639 Longmian Road, Nanjing 211198, PR China.
authors.forename: Mian
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Research Department of Pharmacognosy, China Pharmaceutical University, 639 Longmian Road, Nanjing 211198, PR China.
authors.forename: Xiang-Hong
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Xu
mesh_terms: D000199:Actins / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001761:Bleomycin; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2 / Q000378:metabolism; D036601:Eclipta; D006909:Hydroxyproline / Q000378:metabolism; D008168:Lung / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008315:Malondialdehyde / Q000378:metabolism; D020782:Matrix Metalloproteinases / Q000378:metabolism; D008813:Mice, Inbred ICR; D035261:Plant Components, Aerial; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011658:Pulmonary Fibrosis / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism; D012503:Saponins / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000378:metabolism; D053773:Transforming Growth Factor beta1 / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: C558396:Acta2 protein, mouse; D000199:Actins; D010936:Plant Extracts; D012503:Saponins; D053773:Transforming Growth Factor beta1; C000611296:ecliptasaponin A; D001761:Bleomycin; D008315:Malondialdehyde; C077623:Ptgs2 protein, mouse; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase; D020782:Matrix Metalloproteinases; D006909:Hydroxyproline
keywords: Eclipta prostrata; Ecliptasaponin A; Epithelial–mesenchymal transition; Inflammation; Oxidative stress; TGF-β1