Antipyretic activity and potential mechanism of Indigo Naturalis on 2,4-dinitrophenol-induced fever rat model / 中国中药杂志

ABSTRACT

As an effective antipyretic medicine,Indigo Naturalis has a long history of application in the field of Chinese medicine.The content of organics,mainly indigo and indirubin,is about 10%. However,the active ingredients and mechanism of its antipyretic effect have not yet been fully elucidated. In view of this,they were investigated in this study with the rectal temperature change as an indicator and 2,4-dinitrophenol-induced fever rats as subjects. The content of PGE2 and c AMP in the hypothalamus and the serum levels of TNF-α,IL-1β and IL-6 were determined by ELISA. Moreover,the plasma samples of fever rats were analyzed by metabonomics in combination with UPLC-Q-TOF-MS for the exploration of potential biomarkers and the discussion on the antipyretic mechanism of Indigo Naturalis and its active ingredients. The results showed that the rising trend of rectal temperature in rats was suppressed 0. 5 h after the treatment with Indigo Naturalis,organic matter,indigo or indirubin as compared with the rats of model group( P < 0. 05),among which Indigo Naturalis and organic matter had better antipyretic effect. ELISA results showed that organic matter and indigo can inhibit the expression of PGE2 and c AMP( P<0. 01),while Indigo Naturalis and organic matter were effective in curbing the increase in TNF-α( P<0. 05). A total of 21 endogenous metabolites were identified from the plasma samples of the Indigo Naturalis,organic matter,indigo and indirubin groups,which were mainly involved in glycerophospholipid metabolism.