Shuang-Huang-Lian prevents basophilic granulocyte activation to suppress Th2 immunity

Propolis and its constituents against cardiovascular risk factors including obesity, hypertension, atherosclerosis, diabetes, and dyslipidemia: A comprehensive review

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are some of the major causes of death worldwide. The modern lifestyle elevates the risk of CVDs. CVDs have several risk factors such as obesity, dyslipidemia, atherosclerosis, hypertension, and diabetes. Using herbal and natural products plays a pivotal role in the treatment of different diseases such as CVDs, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome. Propolis, a natural resinous mixture, is made by honey bees. Its main components are phenolics and terpenoid compounds such as caffeic acid phenethyl ester, chrysin, and quercetin. In this review, multiple studies regarding the pharmacological impacts of propolis and its constituents with their related mechanisms of action against mentioned CVD risk factors have been discussed in detail. Here, we used electronic databases or search engines such as Scopus, Web of Science, Pubmed, and Google Scholar without time limitations. The primary components of propolis are phenolics and terpenoid compounds such as caffeic acid phenethyl ester, chrysin and quercetin. Propolis and its constituents have been found to exhibit anti-obesity, anti-hypertension, anti-dyslipidemic, anti-atherosclerosis, and anti-diabetic effects. The vast majority of studies discussed in this review demonstrate that propolis and its constituents could have therapeutic effects against mentioned CVD risk factors via several mechanisms such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, reducing adipogenesis, HMG-CoA reductase inhibitory effect, inhibition of the ACE, increasing insulin secretion, NO level, etc.

Evaluation of the Effect of Hydromethanolic Seed Extract of Lepidium sativum L. (Fetto) on Deep-fried Palm Oil Diet Induced Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease on Male Swiss Albino Mice

Introduction

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most prevalent disease due to a dramatic change in dietary habits, especially an increase in consumption of fat and carbohydrates in deep-fried foods.

Objective

The objective was to evaluate the effect of hydromethanolic seed extract of Lepidium sativum on deep-fried palm oil diet induced NAFLDon male mice.

Methods

An experimental study design was conducted. Twenty-four male mice aged 8 to 10 weeks, weighing 32–42 g were divided into four groups. The four groups were divided into two controls and two treatments. Mice in normal control (C₀) were administered only with the basal diet whereas negative control (C₁) provided only with the deep-fried palm oil diet. The treatment groups T_1, and T₂ were administered with deep-fried palm oil diet and HMSELS at dose of 200 and 400 mg/kg/day, respectively for 28 days. Then on day 29, the mice were fasted overnight, anaesthetized and sacrificed by cervical dislocation after blood was taken by cardiac puncture for liver function tests while liver tissues were taken for histopathology investigation.

Results

The serum ALT and total bilirubin showed significant decrement whereas the serum albumin levels showed significant increment in T₂ group. However, serum AST and ALP levels were decreased significantly in both T₁ and T₂ groups. Besides, the T₂ group liver sections of mice were showed better effect of HMSELS on restoring the damaged liver histopathology almost toward normal.

Conclusion

The HMSELS at a dose of 400 mg/kg/day (T₂) was more effective on the liver function tests and liver histopathology that altered by feeding deep-fried palm oil diet. The good protective effect of HMSELS against deep-fried palm oil diet-induced NAFLD might be due to its antioxidant content.

A mouse allergic asthma model induced by shrimp tropomyosin

Allergic asthma remains an important worldwide health issue. Animal models are valuable for understanding the pathophysiological mechanisms of asthma and the development of effective therapeutics. This study aims to develop an alternative murine model induced by shrimp tropomyosin (ST) instead of ovalbumin (OVA). To investigate responses to short-term exposure to antigens, mice were sensitized with intraperitoneal injections of ST or ST plus aluminum adjuvant on days 0, 7, 14 followed by an intranasal challenge with ST for seven consecutive days. We reveal that sensitization with ST alone or ST plus aluminum induces significant levels of serum total IgE and ST-specific IgE in mice. Challenge results show that ST causes severe eosinophilic airway inflammation. Histology analysis of the lung tissues demonstrates airway inflammation and mucus hypersecretion within the bronchi in mice exposed to ST. Analysis of the cell composition in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) shows a significant increase in eosinophil count in ST alone and ST plus aluminum groups. We also detect increased CD4+ T lymphocytes in lung tissues and production of helper T cell type 2-associated cytokines (IL-4 and IL-5) in BALF. In addition, airway hyperresponsiveness to methacholine in ST alone and ST plus aluminum groups is much higher than that in control groups. For the chronic model, mice were sensitized by ST or ST plus aluminum adjuvant for 3weeks and challenged with ST for 6weeks. We find severe structural changes in animals upon prolonged exposure to ST, including goblet cell hyperplasia, collagen deposition, and smooth muscle thickening. In conclusion, ST-induced asthma is a simple murine model for studying pathogenesis of asthma and evaluating new therapeutic drugs.

New insights into roles of basophils in initiating T helper type 2 immunity

Allergic diseases, mainly mediated by T helper type 2 (Th2) immunity, have become a worldwide public health problem. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has long been used in treating and preventing allergic symptoms. As the new target of anti-allergy TCM, basophils, after approximately 140 years since their discovery, are just now gaining respect as important contributors in the pathogenesis underlying allergic inflammation and disease. In addition to their role as effector cells, basophils can release early IL-4, migrate from circulatory system into draining lymph nodes, present antigen to naive CD4⁺T cells, and promote the differentiation of Th2 cells. Herein, we briefly summarized the recent research advances of the essential contributions of basophils in the initiation of Th2 immune responses.

Shuang-Huang-Lian Attenuates Airway Hyperresponsiveness and Inflammation in a Shrimp Protein-Induced Murine Asthma Model

Shuang-Huang-Lian (SHL), an herbal formula of traditional Chinese medicine, is clinically used for bronchial asthma treatment. Our previous study found that SHL prevented basophil activation to suppress Th2 immunity and stabilized mast cells through activating its mitochondrial calcium uniporter. Sporadic clinical reports that SHL was used for the treatment of bronchial asthma can be found. Thus, in this study, we systematically investigated the effects of SHL on asthmatic responses using a shrimp protein (SP)- induced mouse model. SHL significantly inhibited airway inspiratory and expiratory resistance, and histological studies suggested it reduced thickness of airway smooth muscle and infiltration of inflammation cells. It also could alleviate eosinophilic airway inflammation (EAI), including reducing the number of eosinophils and decreasing eotaxin and eosinophil peroxidase levels in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). Further studies indicated that SHL suppressed SP-elevated mouse mast cell protease-1 and IgE levels, prevented Th2 differentiation in mediastinal lymph nodes, and lowered Th2 cytokine (e.g., IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13) production in BALF. In conclusion, SHL attenuates airway hyperresponsiveness and EAI mainly via the inhibition of mast cell activation and Th2 immunity, which may help to elucidate the underlying mechanism of SHL on asthma treatment and support its clinical use.