Ashwagandha root extract attenuates inflammation in Oleic acid induced-ALI/ARDS rat model via inhibition of ACE and MAPK signaling pathways

Ashwagandha (Withania somniferous) is one of the most important plants of folk medicine and is widely used to treat various diseases. Acute lung injury (ALI) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) are defined as a respiratory failure that abruptly develops due to hypoxemia with alveolar injury secondary to intense inflammation. The present study was focused on evaluating the activity of Ashwagandha against Oleic Acid-Induced ALI/ARDS in a rat model. For this purpose, the animals were divided into the following three groups: Control, Oleic acid (50 μl kg−1, i.v. injection), Ashwagandha (500 mg/kg, orally) + Oleic acid. Ashwagandha was given daily for two weeks before a single dose of the Oleic acid. 24 hours after the last application, all the group animals were sacrificed by sevoflurane, and their lung was evaluated. The levels of Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK), and the activities of myeloperoxidase (MPO), glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), total oxidant status (TOS), and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) were determined in lung tissues by ELISA. Compared with the model group, there was a significantly improving in the levels of MAPK, MPO, and TOS in the Ashwagandha administration group. Moreover, Ashwagandha markedly increased the activities of GSH and SOD, and decreased the activity of ACE. Therefore, Ashwagandha may be used as a potential natural resource for mitigating acute lung injury caused by Oleic acid.