Benzaldehyde suppresses murine allergic asthma and rhinitis

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intimp.2014.07.029Get rights and content
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Highlights

  • Oral benzaldehyde has antiallergic effects in murine allergic asthma and rhinitis.

  • Its effects are independent of the antiapoptotic and antioxidant pathways.

  • Suppression of HIF-1α and VEGF may be involved in the antiallergic mechanism.

Abstract

To evaluate the antiallergic effects of oral benzaldehyde in a murine model of allergic asthma and rhinitis, we divided 20 female BALB/c mice aged 8–10 weeks into nonallergic (intraperitoneally sensitized and intranasally challenged to normal saline), allergic (intraperitoneally sensitized and intranasally challenged to ovalbumin), and 200- and 400-mg/kg benzaldehyde (allergic but treated) groups. The number of nose-scratching events in 10 min, levels of total and ovalbumin-specific IgE in serum, differential counts of inflammatory cells in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid, titers of Th2 cytokines (IL-4, IL-5, IL-13) in BAL fluid, histopathologic findings of lung and nasal tissues, and expressions of proteins involved in apoptosis (Bcl-2, Bax, caspase-3), inflammation (COX-2), antioxidation (extracellular SOD, HO-1), and hypoxia (HIF-1α, VEGF) in lung tissue were evaluated. The treated mice had significantly fewer nose-scratching events, less inflammatory cell infiltration in lung and nasal tissues, and lower HIF-1α and VEGF expressions in lung tissue than the allergic group. The number of eosinophils and neutrophils and Th2 cytokine titers in BAL fluid significantly decreased after the treatment (P < 0.05). These results imply that oral benzaldehyde exerts antiallergic effects in murine allergic asthma and rhinitis, possibly through inhibition of HIF-1α and VEGF.

Keywords

Allergic rhinitis
Asthma
Benzaldehyde
Hypoxia-inducible factor 1
Vascular endothelial growth factor

Cited by (0)

The study was summarized as an Oral Presentation at the 25th Congress of the European Rhinologic Society and 32nd International Symposium of Infection & Allergy of the Nose, Amsterdam, Netherlands, June 22–26, 2014.

1

These authors contributed equally to the work.