Asiatic acid (AA) is one of the major components of the Chinese herb Centella asiatica and exerts a variety of pharmacological activities. However, the pharmacological effects of AA on pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) remain unknown. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the therapeutic efficacy and potential mechanisms of AA on PID in rats. A total of 75 female Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into the following five groups: A control group; a PID group; a PID + AA 5 mg/kg group; a PID + AA 35 mg/kg group; and a PID + AA 75 mg/kg group. Changes in cytokine and chemokine levels, myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity, nucleotide-binding domain-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) activation, oxidative stress and cleaved caspase-3 were measured. AA treatment significantly decreased the excessive production of cytokines and chemokines and suppressed MPO activity and the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome, NF-κB and caspase-3, as well as oxidative stress. These results suggest that AA exhibits potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects in rats with pathogen-induced PID and that the mechanism of these anti-inflammatory effects may be associated with the suppression of NLRP3 inflammasome activation and the NF-κB pathway.
Keywords: asiatic acid; inflammatory response; nuclear factor-κB; nucleotide-binding domain-like receptor protein 3 inflammasome; pelvic inflammatory disease.