Citral inhibits lipopolysaccharide-induced acute lung injury by activating PPAR-γ

Citral, a component of lemongrass oil, has been reported to have many pharmacological activities such as anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory effects. However, the effects of citral on acute lung injury (ALI) and the molecular mechanisms have not been reported. The aim of this study was to detect the effects of citral on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced acute lung injury and investigate the molecular mechanisms. LPS-induced acute lung injury model was used to detect the anti-inflammatory effect of citral in vivo. The alveolar macrophages were used to investigate the molecular mechanism of citral in vitro. The results showed that pretreatment with citral remarkably attenuated pulmonary edema, histological severities, TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1β production in LPS-induced ALI in vivo. In vitro, citral inhibited LPS-induced TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1β production in alveolar macrophages. LPS-induced NF-κB activation was also inhibited by citral. Furthermore, we found that citral activated PPAR-γ and the anti-inflammatory effects of citral can be reversed by PPAR-γ antagonist GW9662. In conclusion, this is the first to demonstrate that citral protects LPS-induced ALI in mice. The anti-inflammatory mechanism of citral is associated with activating PPAR-γ, thereby inhibiting LPS-induced inflammatory response.