HemoHIM, a herbal preparation, alleviates airway inflammation caused by cigarette smoke and lipopolysaccharide

Na-Rae Shin, Sung-Ho Kim, Je-Won Ko, Sung-Hyeuk Park, In-Chul Lee, Jung-Min Ryu, Jong-Choon Kim, In-Sik Shin

HemoHIM, herbal preparation has designed for immune system recovery. We investigated the anti-inflammatory effect of HemoHIM on cigarette smoke (CS) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) mouse model. To induce COPD, C57BL/6 mice were exposed to CS for 1 h per day (eight cigarettes per day) for 4 weeks and intranasally received LPS on day 26. HemoHIM was administrated to mice at a dose of 50 or 100 mg/kg 1h before CS exposure. HemoHIM reduced the inflammatory cell count and levels of tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-1β in the broncho-alveolar lavage fluid (BALF) induced by CS+LPS exposure. HemoHIM decreased the inflammatory cell infiltration in the airway and inhibited the expression of iNOS and MMP-9 and phosphorylation of Erk in lung tissue exposed to CS+LPS. In summary, our results indicate that HemoHIM inhibited a reduction in the lung inflammatory response on CS and LPS induced lung inflammation via the Erk pathway. Therefore, we suggest that HemoHIM has the potential to treat pulmonary inflammatory disease such as COPD.