l-Menthol alleviates cigarette smoke extract induced lung injury in rats by inhibiting oxidative stress and inflammationvianuclear factor kappa B, p38 MAPK and Nrf2 signalling pathways

Abstract

L-Menthol is the main ingredient of peppermint which affects various pharmacological effects such as antiinflammation and anti-oxidative activity. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the potential effects of Lmenthol on cigarette smoke extract (CSE) induced lung injury in rats. Morphology assessment results revealed that administration with L-menthol (5, 10 or 20 mg kg À1 d À1) significantly alleviated CSEinduced lung injury. Besides, L-menthol significantly reduced the inflammatory response by suppressing the production of tumor necrosis factor-a (TNF-a), interleukin-1b (IL-1b) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) via downregulating nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kB) and p38 MAPK pathways. Meanwhile, L-menthol decreased the levels of oxidative stress markers including malondialdehyde (MDA) and myeloperoxidase (MPO) whereas it increased the amount of glutathione (GSH), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) through activation of the Nrf2 pathway. Furthermore, the expression of MMP-9 and TIMP-1 in lungs was reduced after treatment with L-menthol, and this indicated that L-menthol might have a potential effect on airway remodeling. Moreover, immunohistochemistry analyses indicated that L-menthol could suppress the infiltration of CD4 + and CD8 + T cells in lung tissues and this was probably due to the immune regulation activity of Lmenthol. Taken together, our findings support that L-menthol might be a potential candidate for the treatment of CSE-induced lung injury in rats.

Modifying effects of menthol against benzo(a)pyrene‐induced forestomach carcinogenesis in female Swiss mice

“…Ment has multiple important biological properties, including as anti‐inflammatory, 13,14 anesthetic, 15 antimicrobial 16–18 and gastroprotective effects 14,19 . Noteworthy, intraperitoneal Ment administrations alleviated cigarette smoke‐induced lung injury in Sprague–Dawley rats by attenuating oxidative stress and inflammation 20 …”

The Severity of Acute Kidney and Lung Injuries Induced by Cecal Ligation and Puncture Is Attenuated by Menthol: Role of Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen and Apoptotic Markers

“…Similarly, other studies reported menthol-induced liver and kidney protection against acute injury induced by various chemical insults (26,27). Like the work by Liu et al (25), the results of these studies showed that antioxidative and anti-inflammatory mechanisms are involved in menthol-induced protection (26,27). In addition, menthol activates transient receptor potential (TRP) melastatin 8 (TRPM8) (28), which mediates its analgesic effects (29).…”

“…Besides, menthol is an ingredient of many pharmaceutical preparations effective in the management of respiratory diseases such as sinusitis, allergic rhinitis, and bronchitis ( 24 ). A recent study illustrated that menthol alleviated cigarette smoke-induced lung injury via suppression of oxidative stress and inflammation ( 25 ). Similarly, other studies reported menthol-induced liver and kidney protection against acute injury induced by various chemical insults ( 26 , 27 ).…”

Cold stimuli, hot topic: An updated review on the biological activity of menthol in relation to inflammation

“…The findings of Lin et al ( 32 ) contrast with those observed by Liu et al ( 42 ), who investigated the effects of menthol (L-menthol) on cigarette smoke extract (CSE) induced lung injury in rats. The study found that following CSE injury, which is characterized by acute oxidative and inflammatory damage to the lung tissue, administration of menthol led to a marked reduction in the inflammatory response.…”