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. 2019 May-Jun;9(3):248-259.

Evaluation of the protective and therapeutic effects of Pistacia atlantica gum aqueous extract on cellular and pathological aspects of experimental asthma in Balb/c mice

Zaynab Shakarami  1   2 , Hadi Esmaeili Gouvrchin Ghaleh  3 , Bahman Mansouri Motlagh  1 , Ali Sheikhian  2 , Bahman Jalali Kondori  4
Affiliations

Evaluation of the protective and therapeutic effects of Pistacia atlantica gum aqueous extract on cellular and pathological aspects of experimental asthma in Balb/c mice

Zaynab Shakarami et al. Avicenna J Phytomed. 2019 May-Jun.

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the protective and therapeutic effects of aqueous extract of P. atlantica gum on an experimental asthma in BALB/c mice.

Materials and methods: Aqueous extract of dried and milled P. atlantica gum was assemble and evaluate by GC-MS. In order to investigate the effect of P. atlantica gum extract on cellular and pathological aspects of asthma, 60 BALB/c mice were divided into six groups as: negative control, asthmatic group, asthmatic group receiving dexamethasone (1mg/kg; intraperitoneal (IP)) and three asthmatic groups receiving different concentrations of the extract (100, 200 and 400 mg/kg, orally) from the beginning of the study and continued for 84 days. The examined parameters included cell population, IgE antibody production, levels of IL-4, IL-5, TGF-β, INF-γ, IL-10, and IL-17 cytokines, and lung tissue damage.

Results: Regardless of the dose, aqueous extract of P. atlantica gum, caused significant decrease in the number of BALF eosinophilic cells and levels of anti-ovalbumin IgE, IL-4, IL-5 and IL-17 cytokine levels, as well as pathologic damage of the lung tissue. In addition, the amount of anti-inflammatory IL-10, TGF-β, and INF-γ Th1 cytokines significantly increased in the extract-treated groups compared to the asthmatic and dexamethasone-treated groups. Moreover, IFN-γ/IL-4 ratio significantly increased in a dose-dependent manner compared to the un-treated asthma group.

Conclusion: The aqueous extract of P. atlantica gum can be considered as a potent anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory compound and may be used as a natural compound for treatment of immune system disorders.

Keywords: Asthma; BALB/c mouse; P. atlantica.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The Schematic timeline of the study
Figure 2
Figure 2
A. Results of blind analysis of histopathological sections of the middle zone of the left lung in different groups. C (control), A (asthmatic), E-100, 200 and 400 (P. atalantica Gum extract 100, 200 and 400) and Dexa (dexamethasone)). B. Representative sections depict scoring system used for histopathological examinations (X400). Score 0: no inflammation was observed; Score 1: inflammatory cells were occasionally observed; Score 2: most bronchi were surrounded by a thin layer of inflammatory cells; Score 3: most bronchi or vessels were surrounded by a thick layer of inflammatory cells. ***p<0.001, asthmatic group compared to C group. #p<0.05, ##p<0.01, treated groups compared to asthmatic group
Figure 3
Figure 3
Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid eosinophilic cell count. Asthmatic (A) group compared to control group, ***p<0.001. Different treated groups compared to asthmatic group, #p<0.05, ##p<0.01
Figure 4
Figure 4
The effect of aqueous extract of P. atalantica gum on bronchoalveolar lavage fluid cell count. Asthmatic (A) group compared to control group, ***p<0.001. Different treated groups compared to asthmatic group, #p<0.05, ##p<0.01
Figure 5
Figure 5
The effect of aqueous extract of P. atalantica gum on the amount of IgE antibody production in different groups. Asthmatic group compared to control group, ***p<0.001. Different treated groups compared to asthmatic group, ##p<0.01
Figure 6
Figure 6
Effect of different concentrations of aqueous extract of P. atalantica gum and dexamethasone on the production of IL-4 (A), IL-5 (B), IL-17 (C), IL-10 (D), TGF-β (E), INF-γ (F) and IFN-γ/IL-4 ratio (G) by splenocytes of treated mice. #p<0.05, ##p<0.01, ###p<0.001, treated groups compared to asthmatic group
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