Effect of paeoniflorin treatment in rats with severe acute pancreatitis

Objective To observe the therapeutic effect of paeoniflorin on severe acute pancreatitis(SAP) and the impact on the expressions of NF-κB,TNF-α and IL-6 in rats.Methods Forty SD rats were randomly divided into five groups(n =8 each):normal control group(group A),AP 24 h model group(group B),AP 72 h model group(group C),paeoniflorin treatment 24 h group(group D) and paeoniflorin 72 h treatment group(group E).The SAP model was induced by intraperitoneally injecting L-arginine.After the model was established,rats of groups B and C were treated with intra-gastric instillation of NS,and rats in groups D and E with intra-gastric instillation of paeoniflorin.The rats in group B,group D and group C,group E were respectively sacrificed at 24 or 72 hours after established model.The blood samples were taken for measureing serum amylase,TNF-α and IL-6.The pancreatic tissues were taken for analyzing pathological status of the pancreas by optical microscopy after HE staining and detecting the expression of NF-κB p65 protein in the pancreas by Western blot.Results Compared with A group,the serum amylase levels in groups B and D were obviously elevated 24 hours after estabilishing model(all P 0.05),and the level in group D was lower than that in group B(P 0.05).the levels in groups C and E were all declined to near A group's level 72 hours after estabilishing model(all P 0.05).The pathological severity and pathological scores of the pancreas in group D and group E were more lighter than those in group B and group C at the same time point(all P 0.05).Compared with groups B and C at the same time point,the levels of serum TNF-α and IL-6 were significantly decreased in groups D[(10.45 ± 1.90) vs(20.53 ± 4.16) pg/ml,P 0.05;(610.38 ± 106.19) vs(1255.75 ± 118.82) pg/ml,P 0.05]and group E[(9.93 ± 1.63) vs(23.85 ± 5.59) pg/ml,P 0.05;(598.13 ± 83.77) vs(1366.33 ± 163.16) pg/ml,P 0.05].Compared with groups B and C at the same time point,the NF-κB P65 /β-actin ratio obviously decreased in group D [(0.23 ± 0.044) vs(0.71 ± 0.029),P 0.05]and group E [(0.04 ± 0.006) vs(0.65 ± 0.026),P 0.05].Conclusion Paeoniflorin may alleviate the pancreatic pathologic changes in SAP rats,and its mechanism may be involved in inhibiting the activity of NF-κB and expression of TNF-α and IL-6.