Preventive and Therapeutic Effects of Thymol in a Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Acute Lung Injury Mice Model.

Abstract

Acute lung injury (ALI) is a life-threatening syndrome which causes a high mortality rate worldwide. In traditional medicine, lots of aromatic plants-such as some Thymus species-are used for treatment of various lung diseases including pertussis, bronchitis, and asthma. Thymol, one of the primary active constituent derived from Thymus vulgaris (thyme), has been reported to exhibit potent anti-microbial, anti-oxidant, and anti-inflammatory activities in vivo and in vitro. The present study aims to investigate the protective effects of thymol in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced lung injury mice model. In LPS-challenged mice, treatment with thymol (100 mg/kg) before or after LPS challenge significantly improved pathological changes in lung tissues. Thymol also inhibited the LPS-induced inflammatory cells influx, TNF-α and IL-6 releases, and protein concentration in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). Additionally, thymol markedly inhibited LPS-induced elevation of MDA and MPO levels, as well as reduction of SOD activity. Further study demonstrated that thymol effectively inhibited the NF-κB activation in the lung. Taken together, these results suggested that thymol might be useful in the therapy of acute lung injury.

• Authors: Limei Wan, Dongmei Meng, Hong Wang, Shanhe Wan, Shunjun Jiang, Shanshan Huang, Li Wei, Pengjiu Yu
• Journal: Inflammation (Inflammation) Vol. 41 Issue 1 Pg. 183-192 (Feb 2018) ISSN: 1573-2576 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 29019091 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Anti-Inflammatory Agents
• Inflammation Mediators
• Interleukin-6
• Lipopolysaccharides
• NF-kappa B
• Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
• interleukin-6, mouse
• lipopolysaccharide, E coli O55-B5
• Thymol
• Malondialdehyde
• Peroxidase
• Superoxide Dismutase

Topics

• Acute Lung Injury (chemically induced, metabolism, pathology, prevention & control)
• Animals
• Anti-Inflammatory Agents (pharmacology)
• Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid (chemistry)
• Disease Models, Animal
• Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
• Inflammation Mediators (metabolism)
• Interleukin-6 (metabolism)
• Lipopolysaccharides
• Lung (drug effects, metabolism, pathology)
• Male
• Malondialdehyde (metabolism)
• Mice, Inbred BALB C
• NF-kappa B (metabolism)
• Oxidative Stress (drug effects)
• Peroxidase (metabolism)
• Superoxide Dismutase (metabolism)
• Thymol (pharmacology)
• Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha (metabolism)