Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Original Research Article | OPEN ACCESS

Anti-endometriotic effect of Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels extract in human endometriotic cells and rats

Qi-Xiang Xiong¹, Xiao-Yun Ruan², Ai-Ping Deng² , Jue Liu², Qing Zhou²

¹Tongji Medical College Hospital, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030; ²Department of Pharmacy, The Central Hospital of Wuhan, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430014, China.

For correspondence:- Ai-Ping Deng Email: ganlanxiang@126.com

Accepted: 28 January 2020 Published: 30 April 2020

Citation: Xiong Q, Ruan X, Deng A, Liu J, Zhou Q. Anti-endometriotic effect of Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels extract in human endometriotic cells and rats. Trop J Pharm Res 2020; 19(4):817-821 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v19i4.20

© 2020 The authors.
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Abstract

Purpose: To study the anti-endometriotic effect of Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels extract (ASDE) in human endometriotic cells and rats.

Method: Forty female rats were randomly divided into four groups (10 rats/group): control, endometriosis+danazol, endometriosis+high dose of ASDE and low dose of ASDE. The rats were orally administered either vehicle (200 µL of PBS) alone or ASDE (140, 280 and 560 mg/kg/day) for 5 weeks. Danazol was used as the control drug. After induction of endometriosis for 4 weeks, the rats were sacrificed by cervical dislocation and the peritoneum and visceral organs examined visually to measure the number of endometriotic lesions. Serum levels of cancer antigen 125 (CA-125) and interleukin 13 (IL-13), interleukin 18 (IL-18) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) of peritoneal fluids of rats were measured using ELISA kits. Western blot assay was performed to measure the levels of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) expressions after 24 h of treatment with ASDE (30, 60, and 120 µg/mL).

Results: ASDE-treated rats displayed reduced numbers of total endometriotic lesions when compared with vehicle-treated controls (p < 0.01). When the rats were treated with high dose of ASDE, serum CA-125 level, as well as IL-18 and TNF-α levels in peritoneal fluids were significantly lower than that of the control group (p < 0.01); however, IL-13 level in peritoneal fluids was significantly higher than that of the control group (p < 0.01). ASDE treatment significantly suppressed the levels of MMP-2 and MMP-9 protein in 11Z cell (p < 0.01).

Conclusion: The results reveal that ASDE exhibits significant anti-endometriotic effect by inhibiting inflammatory factors in rats. Thus, the plant extract can potentially be developed for the clinical management of endometriosis.

Keywords: Angelica sinensis, Endometriosis, Cancer antigen, Endometriotic lesions, Matrix metalloproteinase