Pneumonia reduces quality of life and imposes economic burdens, underscoring the need for alternative treatments. Our study aimed to evaluate the potential anti-inflammatory effects of Bao Thanh syrup (BT) in a carrageenan-induced pulmonary inflammation model in rats. Pulmonary inflammation was induced via intratracheal administration of carrageenan (2 mg/kg) in adult Wistar rats randomly assigned to five groups (n = 24 per group). Animals were treated with either vehicle, dexamethasone (2 mg/kg/day), or BT (5.4 or 16.2 ml/kg/day). After 24 hours, lung edema (relative lung weight, wet/dry ratio), inflammatory cell counts (total leukocyte (WBC), lymphocyte (LYMP), and neutrophil (NEU)) in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and blood, cytokine levels, C-reactive protein (CRP), oxidative stress markers, and histopathological changes were assessed. Intratracheal instillation of carrageenan induced significant pulmonary inflammation, evidenced by increased lung oedema, elevated WBC, LYMP, and NEU counts in both BALF and blood, and elevated CRP levels. BT at 16.2 ml/kg/day significantly attenuated these changes, reducing inflammatory cell infiltration, TNF-α levels in BALF and blood, and histopathological lung injury. Although IL-6 and IL-1β levels showed a decreasing trend, the changes were not statistically significant. BT at 5.4 ml/kg/day exhibited a trend toward anti-inflammatory activity in the carrageenan-induced pulmonary inflammation model in rats. Bao Thanh syrup demonstrated dose-dependent anti-inflammatory activity in a carrageenan-induced pulmonary inflammation model in rats, suggesting its potential as an adjunctive agent for inflammatory lung conditions and providing a preclinical basis for further investigation in infectious pneumonia models.
Tran et al. (2026) studied this question.