Comparison on Ameliorating Effect of Arisaematis Rhizoma and Arisaematis Rhizoma Preparatum on Allergic Asthma in Rats / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ABSTRACT

ObjectiveTo investigate the therapeutic effects and difference in the effects of Arisaematis Rhizoma （AR） before and after processing （i.e.， Arisaematis Rhizoma Preparatum， ARP） with Zingiberis Rhizoma Recens-Alumen on allergic asthma in rats and to provide a basis for the theory of processing improving the efficacy. MethodA rat model of allergic asthma was established in 70 SD rats by intraperitoneal injection of ovalbumin （OVA）-aluminum hydroxide. The rats were administrated with the aqueous extracts of AR （1.2， 0.3 g∙kg-1） and ARP （1.2， 0.3 g∙kg-1） aqueous extracts by gavage， and montelukast sodium （0.001 g∙kg-1） was used as the positive drug. The T helper cell type 1/type 2 （Th1/Th2） ratio in the serum and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid （BALF） and percentages of inflammatory cells in BALF were determined. Polymerase chain reaction （PCR） was employed to determine the mRNA level of mucin 5AC （MUC5AC） in the lung tissue. The pathological changes in the lung tissue were observed by hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining and PAS staining. Immunohistochemical assay was employed to measure the expression of c-Jun amino-terminal kinase （JNK）， extracellular signal regulated protein kinase （ERK）， and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase （p38 MAPK） in rat lung tissue. Western blot was employed to determine the protein levels of ERK， p-ERK， JNK， p-JNK， p38， p-p38 in the lung tissue. The effects of AR and ARP were compared based on overall desirability. ResultCompared with the blank group， the levels of interleukin-12 （IL-12） and γ interferon （IFN-γ） in serum and BALF of rats in the model group were significantly lower （P<0.05， P<0.01）， and the levels of interleukin-4 （IL-4）， interleukin-5 （IL-5） and interleukin-13 （IL-13） were significantly higher （P<0.05， P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， the serum and BALF contents of IL-12 and IFN-γ in rats in the montelukast sodium group， high-dose AR group and high-dose ARP group were significantly higher （P<0.05， P<0.01）， and the contents of IL-4， IL-5 and IL-13 were significantly lower （P<0.05， P<0.01）， and the serum contents of IFN-γ in rats in the low-dose AR group and low-dose ARP group were in BALF was significantly higher （P<0.05） and IL-4 and IL-13 were significantly lower （P<0.05， P<0.01）， the percentages of macrophages， lymphocytes， neutrophils， and eosinophils were reduced in BALF， and the expression of JNK/ERK/p38 MAPK signaling pathway and MUC5AC protein was inhibited in lung tissues. Overall assessment of the normalized analysis revealed that the ARP group was slightly more potent than the AR group after administration of the same dose. ConclusionAR and ARP can effectively treat allergic asthma by inhibiting JNK/ERK/p38 MAPK signaling pathway， and the effect is better after concoction， which can provide data support for its "concoction efficiency".