Anti-inflammatory Property of Imperatorin on Alveolar Macrophages and Inflammatory Lung Injury

Imperatorin is one of the furanocoumarin derivatives and exists in many medicinal herbs with anticancer, antiviral, antibacterial, and antihypertensive activities. In this study, we examined the anti-inflammatory effects of imperatorin on inflammation-associated lung diseases. Imperatorin reduced iNOS and COX-2 expression and also IL-6 and TNFα production enhanced by zymosan. Imperatorin also inhibited the signaling pathways of JAK/STAT and NF-κB. Moreover, in vivo study also revealed that zymosan-induced immune cell infiltration, pulmonary fibrosis, and edema were relieved by imperatorin in mice. We found that imperatorin exerts anti-inflammatory effects that are associated with amelioration of lung inflammation, edema, and rapid fibrosis. Studies on alveolar macrophages also reveal that imperatorin reduced the production of pro-inflammatory mediators and cytokines and inhibited pro-inflammatory JAK1/STAT3 and NF-κB signaling pathways. These results indicate that imperatorin may be a potential anti-inflammatory agent for inflammatory-associated lung diseases.