Background: Rhei Rhizoma has been widely used as a traditional herbal medicine to treat various\ninflammatory diseases. The present study was conducted to evaluate its anti-inflammatory activity against\nexperimental reflux-induced esophagitis (RE) in SD rats.\nMethods: Rhei Rhizoma was administered at 125 or 250 mg/kg body weight per day for 7 days prior to the\ninduction of reflux esophagitis, and its effect was compared with RE control and normal rats.\nResults: Rhei Rhizoma administration markedly ameliorated mucosal damage on histological evaluation. The\nelevated reactive oxygen species in the esophageal tissue of RE control rats decreased with the\nadministration of Rhei Rhizoma. RE control rats exhibited the down-regulation of antioxidant-related proteins,\nsuch as nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) expression levels, in\nthe presence of esophagitis; however, the levels with Rhei Rhizoma treatment were significantly higher than\nthose in RE control rats. Moreover, RE control rats exhibited the up-regulation of protein expressions related\nto oxidative stress in the presence of esophagitis, but Rhei Rhizoma administration significantly reduced the\nexpression of inflammatory proteins through mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)-related signaling\npathways. The protein expressions of inflammatory mediators and cytokines by nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-�ºB)\nactivation were modulated through blocking the phosphorylation of inhibitor of nuclear factor kappa B (I�ºB)�±.\nConclusion: Our findings support the therapeutic evidence for Rhei Rhizoma ameliorating the development\nof esophagitis via regulating inflammation through the activation of the antioxidant pathway.
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