Anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of apigenin in a rat model of sepsis: an immunological, biochemical, and histopathological study

Abstract

Objective: We hypothesize that apigenin may inhibit some cellular process of sepsis-induced spleen injury and simultaneously improve inflammation and oxidative stress. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the potential protective effects of apigenin in a polymicrobial sepsis rat model of by cecal ligation and puncture.

Materials and methods: 64 female Wistar albino rats were divided into 8 groups. The pro-inflammatory (tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-6, and interleukin-1-beta) and anti-inflammatory (tumor growth factor-beta and interleukin-10) cytokine levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. CD3, CD68, and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) positivity rates were detected by immunohistochemical methods. Oxidative stress parameters were measured by tissue biochemistry.

Results: Sepsis caused a significant increase in TNF-alpha, IL-1-beta, IL-6, and TGF-beta levels whereas it reduced IL-10 level. Additionally, it led to an increase in CD3, CD68, and NF-κB positivity rates as well as oxidative stress parameters levels. However, apigenin inhibited the inflammation process, increased the IL-10 level and normalized the oxidative stress parameters.

Discussion and conclusion: Pretreatment with apigenin results in a significant reduction in the amount of inflammatory cells. The beneficial effect of apigenin on spleen injury also involved inhibition of NF-κB pathway, suppression of proinflammatory cytokines, and induction of anti-inflammatory cytokine production. Additionally, it led to a decrease in oxidative stress in spleen tissue. Taking everything into account, apigenin may be an alternative therapeutic option for prevention of sepsis-induced organ.

Keywords:

• Apigenin
• CD3 and CD68
• CLP sepsis
• cytokines
• NF-κB
• oxidative stress

Acknowledgements

We acknowledge Dr. Emre Karakus and Dr. Ismail Can for the invaluable support to some steps of the experiments and methods.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article.

Funding information

The current study was supported by Kafkas University, Scientific Research Project Council under the project number: 2015-TS-61.