This study aimed to investigate the
biological effects and underlying mechanisms of the total
ginsenosides from
Panax ginseng stems and leaves on
lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced
acute lung injury (ALI) in
mice . Sixty
male C57BL/6J
mice were randomly divided into a
control group , a model group, the total
ginsenosides from P.
ginseng stems and leaves normal
administration group(61.65 mg·kg~(-1)), and low-, medium-, and high-
dose total
ginsenosides from P.
ginseng stems and leaves groups(15.412 5, 30.825, and 61.65 mg·kg~(-1)).
Mice were administered for seven continuous days before modeling. Twenty-four hours after modeling,
mice were sacrificed to obtain
lung tissues and calculate
lung wet/dry ratio. The number of inflammatory
cells in
bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) was detected. The levels of
interleukin-1 β(
IL-1 β),
interleukin-6 (
IL-6 ), and
tumor necrosis factor -α(TNF-α) in BALF were detected. The
mRNA expression levels of
IL-1 β,
IL-6 , and TNF-α, and the levels of
myeloperoxidase (MPO),
glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px),
superoxide dismutase (SOD), and
malondialdehyde (MDA) in
lung tissues were determined.
Hematoxylin -
eosin (HE)
staining was used to observe the pathological changes in
lung tissues . The
gut microbiota was detected by
16S rRNA sequencing, and
gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was applied to detect the content of
short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in se-rum. The results showed that the total
ginsenosides from P.
ginseng stems and leaves could reduce
lung index,
lung wet/dry ratio, and
lung damage in LPS-induced ALI
mice , decrease the number of inflammatory
cells and levels of inflammatory factors in BALF, inhibit the
mRNA expression levels of inflammatory factors and levels of MPO and MDA in
lung tissues , and potentiate the activity of GSH-Px and SOD in
lung tissues . Furthermore, they could also reverse the
gut microbiota disorder, restore the diversity of
gut microbiota , increase the relative abundance of Lachnospiraceae and Muribaculaceae, decrease the relative abundance of Prevotellaceae, and enhance the content of SCFAs(
acetic acid , propionic
acid , and
butyric acid ) in
serum . This study suggested that the total
ginsenosides from P.
ginseng stems and leaves could improve
lung edema , inflammatory response, and
oxidative stress in ALI
mice by regulating
gut microbiota and SCFAs
metabolism .