Abstract: Objective To observe the protective effect of 2, 3, 5, 4'-tetrahydroxystilbene-2-O-β-d-glucoside (TSG) against lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced acute lung injury (ALI) in rats and explore the underlying mechanism. Methods Thirty-six SD rats were randomized equally into 4 groups: the normal control group, ALI model group, and low- and high-dose TSG groups (treated with 50 and 100 mg/kg TSG via intragastric administration, respectively). In all but the normal control group, the rats were subjected to tail vein injection of LPS to induced ALI. The rats were euthanized at 6 h after the injection for pathological examination of the lungs. The wet/dry weight ratio (W/D) of the lungs were calculated, and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and malondialdehyde (MDA) content in the lung tissues and serum levels of TNF-α and IL-6 were determined. Western blotting was performed to detect the levels of NF-κB p65 in the lungs. Results Compared with those in LPS group, the TSG-treated rats showed significantly milder lung pathologies (P<0.001) and had lower serum TNF-α and IL-6 levels (P<0.001) and W/D of the lung tissues (P<0.001), higher SOD activity (P<0.001) and lower MDA content in the lungs (P<0.001), and significantly lower expression of NF-κB p65 in the lungs (P<0.001). None of these indices showed significant differences between the low and high- dose TSG treatment groups (P>0.05). Conclusions TSG can ameliorate LPS- induced ALI in rats possibly by suppressing the NF-κB pathway to improve the antioxidant capacity and decrease the release of inflammatory factors.

Key words: 2, 3, 5, 4'-tetrahydroxystilbene-2-O-β-d-glucoside; lipopolysaccharide; acute lung injury; nuclear factor κB