Hypericum Perforatum Extract inhibits Cigarette Smoke Induced Lung Inflammation

Hypericum perforatum, is a plant which blooms between july and september at farms, borders of roads and woods, top of hills and grasslands, whose anti-inflammatory effects are shown in various studies. It is shown that cigarette smoke causes increase in inflammation mediators on lung. Due to this reason, we planned a study to examine the protective effects of Hypericum perforatum aganist smoke exposure induced lung damage in mice. For this purpose, mice exposured to smoke during 2 mounth and 70 mg/kg Hypericum perforatum extract per a day and cyclooxygenase-2, cytosolic phospholipase A2(cPLA2) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) enzymes in their lungs are analyzed by using ELISA method. Smoke exposure increased the expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), cPLA2 and iNOS enzymes. Hypericum perforatum administration to mice that are exposured to smoke previously decreased the rate of increase of the cPLA2, cyclooxygenase-2 and iNOS In conclusion, our study shows that the smoke exposre causes inflammation induced lung damage and the use of Hypericum perforatum extract can be helpful against this toxic effect.