Study on the Anti-oxidative Stress and Anti-inflammatory Effect of Epicatechin on Acute Lung Injury in Mice

PurposeTo investigate the regulation effect of epicatechin (EC) on lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced acute lung injury (ALI) mice oxidative stress and inflammation.

MethodsA tracheal instillation method was used to establish ALI model in BALB/c mice. The degree of edema of lung tissues were assessed by measuring the wet/dry weight ratio (W/D). Its anti-oxidative damage effects also were detected by evaluating catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities, malondialdehyde (MDA) and protein carbonyl content. Serum, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and lung tissues interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and nitric oxide (NO) content and expression of phosphorylated P38 mitogen activated protein kinases (P38), extracellular regulated kinases (ERK) and c-jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) were detected to assess its anti-inflammatory effects.

Results EC (40 mg/kg) pretreatment effectively decreased the W/D ratio of lung tissue to improve the degree of edema, and increased the activity of CAT, GSH-Px and SOD and reduced the level of MDA and protein carbonyl to improve its antioxidant activity. EC (40 mg/kg) also reduced the content of IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α and NO and decreased the ratio of p-JNK/JNK (P<0.05), p-ERK/ERK (P<0.01) and p-P38/P38 (P<0.01) in lung tissues.

ConclusionEC can regulate oxidative stress and inflammation and improve ALI in mice.