Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Original Research Article | OPEN ACCESS

Quyu Xiaozhong recipe exerts anti-inflammatory effect in acute mastitis by inhibiting TLR4/NF-κB signal pathway

Mingzheng Wang¹, Li Jin²

¹Breast and Thyroid Department, Jinhua Central Hospital, No. 365 Renmin East Road, Wucheng District, Jinhua, Zhejiang 321000, China; ²Traditional Chinese Medicine Department, Affiliated Hangzhou First Peopleâ€™s Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, No. 261 Huansha Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310006, China.

For correspondence:- Li Jin Email: jlsciwenzhang2020@163.com

Accepted: 27 April 2023 Published: 30 May 2023

Citation: Wang M, Jin L. Quyu Xiaozhong recipe exerts anti-inflammatory effect in acute mastitis by inhibiting TLR4/NF-κB signal pathway. Trop J Pharm Res 2023; 22(5):981-986 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v22i5.7

© 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 investigate the effect of Quyu Xiaozhong recipe (QYXZR) on acute mastitis induced by Staphylococcus aureus in rats via TLR4/NF-κB signal pathway.

Methods: The rat model of acute mastitis was constructed by injecting Staphylococcus aureus into the fourth pair of nipples of rats 5-7 days after parturition. The rats were treated with drugs 12 h after injection. Pathological changes in rat mammary tissue were determined using hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) staining. Myeloperoxidase (MPO) kit was used to evaluate MPO activity. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was employed to determine the levels of inflammatory factors, while changes in protein expression of TLR4, NF-κB-p65, and IκB-α were determined by Western blot.

Results: QYXZR intervention significantly attenuated pathological damage in rats and alleviated Staphylococcus aureus-induced mastitis. At the same time, QYXZR significantly reduced the expression of MPO and the levels of inflammatory factors (p < 0.05). Further molecular mechanistic studies revealed that QYXZR exerted anti-inflammatory effects by inhibiting TLR4/NF-κB signal pathway.

Conclusion: QYXZR alleviates acute mastitis caused by Staphylococcus aureus via the inhibition of TLR4/NF-κB pathway, thus, providing the scientific and theoretical basis for the extensive use of this traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of acute mastitis

Keywords: Quyu Xiaozhong recipe, Staphylococcus aureus, TLR4/NF-κB pathway, Acute mastitis