title: Standardized myrtol attenuates lipopolysaccharide induced acute lung injury in mice.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Standardized myrtol, an essential oil containing primarily cineole, limonene and α-pinene, has been used for treating nasosinusitis, bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the effects of standardized myrtol in a model of acute lung injury (ALI) induced by lipopolysaccharides (LPS).
  
  
  METHODS
  Male BALB/c mice were treated with standardized myrtol for 1.5 h prior to exposure of atomized LPS. Six hours after LPS challenge, lung injury was determined by the neutrophil recruitment, cytokine levels and total protein concentration in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity in the lung tissue. Additionally, pathological changes and NF-κB activation in the lung were examined by haematoxylin and eosin staining and western blot, respectively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In LPS-challenged mice, standardized myrtol at a dose of 1200 mg/kg significantly inhibited the neutrophile counts (from 820.97 ± 142.44 to 280.42 ± 65.45, 103/mL), protein concentration (from 0.331 ± 0.02 to 0.183 ± 0.01, mg/mL) and inflammatory cytokines level (TNF-α: from 6072.70 ± 748.40 to 2317.70 ± 500.14, ng/mL; IL-6: from 1184.85 ± 143.58 to 509.57 ± 133.03, ng/mL) in BALF. Standardized myrtol also attenuated LPS-induced MPO activity (from 0.82 ± 0.04 to 0.48 ± 0.06, U/g) and pathological changes (lung injury score: from 11.67 ± 0.33 to 7.83 ± 0.79) in the lung. Further study demonstrated that standardized myrtol prevented LPS-induced NF-κB activation in lung tissues.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Together, these data suggest that standardized myrtol has the potential to protect against LPS-induced airway inflammation in a model of ALI.
authors: a Department of Pharmacy , The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University , Guangzhou , China.
authors: Peng-Jiu
authors: PJ
authors: Yu
authors: b Department of Respiratory Medicine , The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Pharmaceutical University , Guangzhou , China.
authors: Li-Mei
authors: LM
authors: Wan
authors: c Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New Drug Screening, School of Pharmaceutical Science, Southern Medical University , Guangzhou , China.
authors: Shan-He
authors: SH
authors: Wan
authors: a Department of Pharmacy , The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University , Guangzhou , China.
authors: Wen-Ying
authors: WY
authors: Chen
authors: a Department of Pharmacy , The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University , Guangzhou , China.
authors: Hui
authors: H
authors: Xie
authors: a Department of Pharmacy , The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University , Guangzhou , China.
authors: Dong-Mei
authors: DM
authors: Meng
authors: c Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New Drug Screening, School of Pharmaceutical Science, Southern Medical University , Guangzhou , China.
authors: Jia-Jie
authors: JJ
authors: Zhang
authors: a Department of Pharmacy , The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University , Guangzhou , China.
authors: Xiang-Lin
authors: XL
authors: Xiao
mesh_terms: D055371:Acute Lung Injury / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000818:Animals; D004338:Drug Combinations; D018836:Inflammation Mediators / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000633:toxicity*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D039821:Monoterpenes / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D004338:Drug Combinations; D018836:Inflammation Mediators; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D039821:Monoterpenes; C055632:myrtol
keywords: MPO; NF-κB; Neutrophiles influx; inflammatory cytokine; protein leakage