2. Academic Validation
  3. Pharmacological effects of indole alkaloids from Alstonia scholaris (L.) R. Br. on pulmonary fibrosis in vivo

Pharmacological effects of indole alkaloids from Alstonia scholaris (L.) R. Br. on pulmonary fibrosis in vivo

  • J Ethnopharmacol. 2021 Mar 1;267:113506. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2020.113506.
Yun-Li Zhao 1,  Shi-Biao Pu 2,  Yan Qi 3,  Bai-Fen Wu 4,  Jian-Hua Shang 5,  Ya-Ping Liu 5,  Di Hu 2,  Xiao-Dong Luo 6
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemistry for Natural Resource, Ministry of Education and Yunnan Province, School of Chemical Science and Technology, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650091, PR China; State Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Plant Resources in West China, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, PR China.
  • 2 Chinese Materia Medica, Yunnan University of Chinese Medicine, Kunming, 650500, PR China.
  • 3 Yunnan Provincial Hospital of TCM, Yunnan Province, Kunming, 650021, PR China.
  • 4 Yunnan University of Business Management, Yunnan Province, Kunming, 650500, PR China.
  • 5 State Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Plant Resources in West China, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, PR China.
  • 6 Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemistry for Natural Resource, Ministry of Education and Yunnan Province, School of Chemical Science and Technology, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650091, PR China; State Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Plant Resources in West China, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, PR China. Electronic address: [email protected].
PMID: 33148433 DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2020.113506
Abstract

Ethnopharmacological relevance: Alstonia scholaris (L.) R. Br. (Apocynaceae) is a Dai folk medicine for the treatment of lung diseases in China.

Aim of the study: The present study investigated the anti-pulmonary fibrosis effects of total Alkaloids (TA) and the potential active ingredients and its possible mechanism.

Materials and methods: After intratracheal instillation of bleomycin (BLM, 5 mg/kg), mice were divided into ten groups, and orally treated with the corresponding samples once daily for 28 days. The effect of Indole Alkaloids was determined through analysis of cytokines, as well as histopathological examinations and gene expressions.

Results: Severe lung fibrosis was observed in the BLM-treated mice on day 28. However, the administration of TA significantly ameliorated the pathological changes in the lungs, decreased the content of Krebs von den Lungen-6, Lactate Dehydrogenase, Transforming Growth Factor-β (TGF-β), hydroxyproline, type I collagen, and malonaldehyde, and enhanced the activity of superoxide dismutase in the serum and lung tissues. In addition, the enhanced TGF-β and matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) expressions in BLM-induced mice were obviously weakened by Indole Alkaloids, as well as the ratio of matrix metalloproteinase-1 to tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 was decreased. Moreover, picrinine and scholaricine yielded markedly better values in the aforementioned indices than those in other samples, indicating that they may be the active ingredients of Alkaloids.

Conclusions: TA exerted protective effects against BLM-induced pulmonary fibrosis by reducing collagen deposition through TGF-β/MMP-1 pathway.

Keywords

19-Epischolaricine; Alstonia scholaris; Indole alkaloids; Picrinine; Pulmonary fibrosis; Scholaricine; Vallesamine.

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