Saikosaponin A and Its Epimers Alleviate LPS-Induced Acute Lung Injury in Mice

  • Molecules. 2023 Jan 18;28(3):967. doi: 10.3390/molecules28030967.
Donghui Peng  1 ,  Yuchan Chen  1 ,  Yanping Sun  1 ,  Zhihong Zhang  1 ,  Na Cui  1 ,  Wensen Zhang  1 ,  Ying Qi  2 ,  Yuanning Zeng  2 ,  Bin Hu  3 ,  Bingyou Yang  1 ,  Qiuhong Wang  2 ,  Haixue Kuang  1
Affiliations
  • 1. Key Laboratory of Basic and Application Research of Beiyao, Ministry of Education, Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, No. 24, Heping Road, Harbin 150040, China.
  • 2. Guangdong Engineering Technology Research Center for Standardized Processing of Chinese Materia Medica, Science and Technology Department of Guangdong Province, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, No. 280, Waihuan East Road, Guangzhou 510006, China.
  • 3. National Engineering Research Center for Modernization of Traditional Chinese Medicine-Hakka Medical Resources Branch, School of Pharmacy, Gannan Medical University, No. 1, Medical College Road, Ganzhou 341004, China.
PMID: 36770631 DOI: 10.3390/molecules28030967
Abstract

The purpose of this work was to illustrate the effect of processing with vinegar on saikosaponins of Bupleurum chinense DC. (BC) and the protective effects of saikosaponin A (SSA), saikosaponin b1 (SSb1), saikosaponin b2 (SSb2), and saikosaponin D (SSD) in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced acute lung injury (ALI) mice. We comprehensively evaluated the anti-inflammatory effects and potential mechanisms of SSA, SSb1, SSb2, and SSD through an LPS-induced ALI model using intratracheal injection. The results showed that SSA, SSb1, SSb2, and SSD significantly decreased pulmonary edema; reduced the levels of IL-6, TNF-α, and IL-1β in serum and lung tissues; alleviated pulmonary pathological damage; and decreased the levels of the IL-6, TNF-α, and IL-1β genes and the expression of NF-κB/TLR4-related proteins. Interestingly, they were similar in structure, but SSb2 had a better anti-inflammatory effect at the same dose, according to a principal component analysis. These findings indicated that it may not have been comprehensive to only use SSA and SSD as indicators to evaluate the quality of BC, especially as the contents of SSb1 and SSb2 in vinegar-processed BC were significantly increased.

Keywords
Bupleurum chinense DC.; acute lung injury; saikosaponin A; saikosaponin D; saikosaponin b1; saikosaponin b2; vinegar processing.
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