Plumbagin Attenuates Ovalbumin-induced Allergic Asthma in Mice through Inhibition of Inflammatory Response

Background Asthma is a prominent non-communicable inflammatory disease that affects both children and the elderly. Younger people are more prone to asthma, and most prescribed anti-asthmatic medicines relieve symptoms but do not cure the condition completely. We investigated the ability of a phytochemical plumbagin to alleviate ovalbumin (OVA)-induced asthma in BALB/c mice. Materials and Methods The allergic asthma-induced mice were treated with two different doses of 25 and 50 mg/kg bwt plumbagin, and to compare the efficacy of plumbagin, a standard drug dexamethasone treatment was given. OVA-specific IgE and eotaxin were quantified to determine the induction of asthma and the inhibitory role of plumbagin. Total leukocyte and differential count were done to assess the effect of plumbagin on inflammatory cells. Inflammatory cytokines inducing both atopic and non-atopic asthma were quantified to examine the efficacy of plumbagin against allergic and non-allergic-induced asthma. Nitric oxide (NO) and myeloperoxidase activity were measured to investigate the anti-asthmatic potential of plumbagin. The antioxidant potency of plumbagin was assessed by quantifying the levels of antioxidants and the oxidative stress marker malondialdehyde. Lung weight index and histopathological analysis of lung tissue were done to confirm the ameliorative potency of plumbagin against OVA allergen-induced asthma. Results Plumbagin treatment significantly decreased the status of OVA-specific IgE and eotaxin, thereby prevented the eosinophilic infiltration. It also inhibited the synthesis of both atopic and non-atopic inducing inflammatory cytokines. Plumbagin treatment also increased the levels of antioxidants and prevented the lung tissue damage, which was evidenced with our histopathology study of lung tissue. Conclusion Overall, our finding confirms that plumbagin is persuasively alleviated OVA allergen-induced asthma complications in mice model and may be an alternative for currently available anti-asthmatic drugs.