摘要
Cyclocarya paliurus (Batal.) Iljinsk, a millennia-old traditional Chinese herb, is prized for its ability to clear the lungs and nourish the liver. Additionally, it is employed in traditional Chinese medicine practice for heat clearance and detoxification, addressing conditions such as lung diseases.
This study aimed to evaluate beneficial effects of polysaccharides (CPP) from C. paliurus on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and its potential mechanisms.
The chemical characterization of the isolated and purified CPP was conducted using fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, ultraviolet spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. COPD was induced in male BALB/c mice by intranasal infusion of LPS and exposure to cigarette smoke for 28 days. Lung tissues were then collected for subsequent histopathological and molecular analyses. The mechanism of CPP against COPD was investigated through transcriptomic data mining and Western blot analysis. Additionally, acute toxicity of CPP was assessed in mice following a single oral dose of 15 g/kg.
Experimental evidence established that CPP consists of six monosaccharides: fucose, arabinose, rhamnose, galactose, glucose, and xylose. CPP treatment significantly reduced the levels of PCO2 and HCO3− in the blood of COPD mice, concurrently alleviating pulmonary inflammation. Mechanistic investigations have revealed that CPP exerts its anti-inflammatory effect by modulating the AhR/NF-κB pathway. In addition, CPP demonstrated safety at doses exceeding 100 times the effective level.
The results suggest that CPP holds promise as a potential therapeutic agent for the intervention of COPD. These findings provide a theoretical basis for the development of the ethnic medicinal herb Cyclocarya paliurus.
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Cyclocarya paliurus (Batal.) Iljinsk, a millennia-old traditional Chinese herb, is prized for its ability to clear the lungs and nourish the liver. It is employed in traditional Chinese medicine practice for heat clearance and detoxification, addressing conditions such as lung diseases. At the same time, as a dual-purpose medicinal herb, it was commonly consumed as herbal tea in daily life, referred to as “sweet tea”, with polysaccharides serving as the primary contributor to its sweet taste.•The polysaccharide components in the aqueous extract of C. paliurus (CPP) were characterized and found to consist of fucose, arabinose, rhamnose, galactose, glucose, and xylose, with a molar ratio of 0.003:0.069:0.082:0.153:0.012:0.043.•The therapeutic effect of CPP on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) was investigated for the first time, demonstrating that CPP exerts a dose-dependent protective effect against cigarette smoke-induced inflammatory responses in a mouse model of COPD.•Through bioinformatics analysis and experimental verification, the preliminary mechanism by which CPP ameliorates COPD was elucidated: CPP inhibits signal transduction along the NF-κB pathway by modulating AhR protein expression, thereby suppressing the production of inflammatory cytokines and reducing lung injury.