J Appl Biomed 21:200-207, 2023 | DOI: 10.32725/jab.2023.022

Effect of Usnea longissima ethyl acetate extract on acute oxidative and inflammatory lung damage from Staphylococcus aureus infection in rats

Bulent Dabanlioglu¹, Bahadir Suleyman², Renad Mammadov², Bulent Yavuzer², Sumeyye Akyuz¹, Onder Akkas¹, Behzad Mokhtare³, Emine Akyuz Turumtay⁴, Durdu Altuner², Taha Abdulkadir Coban⁵, Halis Suleyman^{2, *}

¹ Erzincan Binali Yildirim University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Medical Microbiology, Erzincan, Turkey

² Erzincan Binali Yildirim University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pharmacology, Erzincan, Turkey

³ Ataturk University, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Pathology, Erzurum, Turkey

⁴ Recep Tayyip Erdogan University, Faculty of Science, Department of Chemistry, Rize, Turkey

⁵ Erzincan Binali Yildirim University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Medical Biochemistry, Erzincan, Turkey

The role of oxidants and proinflammatory cytokines in the pathogenesis of pneumonia caused by Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) has been demonstrated. The present study aims to investigate the protective effect of ethyl acetate extract (EtOAc) obtained from Usnea longissima (UL) against acute oxidative and inflammatory lung damage due to S. aureus infection in rats. Albino Wistar-type male rats were divided into three groups: Healthy (HG), S. aureus inoculated (SaG), and S. aureus inoculated + ULEtOAc administered (SUL). SaG (n = 6) and SUL (n = 6) group rats' left nostrils (excluding HG) were inoculated with 0.1 ml bacterial mixture. After 24 hours, ULEtOAc (50 mg/kg) was administered orally to the SUL group, and the same volume of normal saline was administered orally to the HG (n = 6) and SaG groups. This procedure was performed once a day for seven days. Levels of oxidant and antioxidant parameters such as malondialdehyde (MDA) and total glutathione (tGSH), as well as pro-inflammatory cytokine levels such as nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-one beta (IL-1β), were measured in removed lung tissues. Tissues were also examined histopathologically. Biochemical results showed that ULEtOAc significantly suppressed the increase of MDA, NF-κB, TNF-α, and IL-1β levels and the decrease of tGSH caused by S. aureus in lung tissue. S. aureus inoculation caused severe mononuclear cell infiltration in interstitial areas, severe lymphoid hyperplasia in bronchial-associated lymphoid tissue and severe alveolar edema, histopathologically. Treatment with ULEtOAc had an attenuating effect on these histopathological findings. Experimental results from this study suggest that ULEtOAc may be beneficial in treating S. aureus-induced oxidative and inflammatory lung damage.

Keywords: Ethyl acetate extract; Lung; Oxidative and inflammatory; Rats; Staphylococcus aureus; Usnea longissima

Conflicts of interest:

The authors have no conflict of interest to declare.

Received: April 9, 2023; Revised: October 29, 2023; Accepted: December 6, 2023; Prepublished online: December 7, 2023; Published: December 18, 2023  Show citation