Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Original Research Article | OPEN ACCESS

Abietic acid ameliorates pancreatic injury in acute pancreatitis by modulating MAPK pathway

Hailin Ye¹, Jun Wang¹, Jiaodan Mao², Debiao Pan¹

¹Hepatic-Biliary-Pancreatic-Surgery, Lishui People's Hospital, Lishui, Zhejiang Province 323000, China; ²Department of Oncology, Lishui People's Hospital, Lishui, Zhejiang Province 323000, China.

For correspondence:- Debiao Pan Email: pandebiao3041401@163.com Tel:+865782780750

Accepted: 27 July 2023 Published: 31 August 2023

Citation: Ye H, Wang J, Mao J, Pan D. Abietic acid ameliorates pancreatic injury in acute pancreatitis by modulating MAPK pathway. Trop J Pharm Res 2023; 22(8):1573-1578 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v22i8.7

© 2023 The authors.
This is an Open Access article that uses a funding model which does not charge readers or their institutions for access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) and the Budapest Open Access Initiative (http://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org/read), which permit unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited..

Abstract

Purpose: To examine the effect of abietic acid (AA) in the treatment of acute pancreatitis (AP) in mice.

Methods: C57BL/6J mice were randomly assigned to 4 groups: sham, AP, AP + 20 mg/kg AA, and AP + 40 mg/kg AA groups. To induce AP mouse model, the mice received intraperitoneal (IP) injections of cerulein. The extent of pancreatic tissue damage was evaluated by histological examination. Serum ALT, lipase, and amylase levels were determined by commercial kits while TUNEL assay was used to assess the apoptosis of pancreatic cells. The contents of Bax, Caspase-3, Bcl-2, p-ERK/ERK, p-JNK/JNK, and p-P38/P38 in pancreatic tissues were evaluated by western blot while the contents of IL-6, TNF-α, IL-1β, nitrite, MDA, and GSH in the tissues were evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits.

Results: AA relieved pancreatic damage and reduced ALT, lipase, and amylase levels in cerulein-treated AP mouse (p < 0.001). AA repressed apoptosis of pancreatic cells in cerulein-induced AP mouse, and inhibited oxidative stress and inflammatory response in the mice by reducing IL-6, TNF-α, IL-1β, nitrite, and MDA contents; it also enhanced the levels of GSH in the tissues (p < 0.001). In addition, AA inhibited MAPK pathway activity in the mice (p < 0.001).

Conclusion: AA ameliorates pancreatic damage, pancreatic cell apoptosis, oxidative stress, and inflammation in cerulein-induced AP mouse by inhibiting MAPK pathway. This study offers a new potential drug for the management of AP and expands the relevant molecular regulatory mechanisms.

Keywords: Abietic acid, Pancreatic injury, Acute pancreatitis, MAPK pathway, Cerulein