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Background: Andrographis paniculata (Burm. f.) Nees (APN), a principal constituent of a famous traditional Chinese medicine Fukeqianjin tablet which is used for the treatment of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), has been reported to have anti-inflammatory effect in vitro. However, whether it has pharmacological effect on PID in vivo is unclear. Therefore, the aim of this study is to test the anti-inflammatory effect of APN and illuminate a potential mechanism. Methods: Thirty-six female specific pathogen-free SD rats were randomly divided into control group, PID group, APN1 group, APN2 group, APN3 group and prednisone group. Pathogen-induced PID rats were constructed. The APN1, APN2 and APN3 group rats were orally administrated with APN extract at different levels. The prednisone group rats were administrated with prednisone. Eight days after the first infection, the histological examination of upper genital tract was carried out, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was carried out using homogenate of the uterus and fallopian tube. Furthermore, immunohistochemical evaluations of NF-κB p65 and IκB-α in uterus was conducted. Results: APN obviously suppressed the infiltrations of neutrophils and lymphocytes, and it could significantly reduce the excessive production of cytokines and chemokines including IL-1β, IL-6, CXCL-1, MCP-1 and RANTES in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, APN could block the pathogen-induced activation of NF-κB pathway. Conclusion: APN showed potent anti-inflammatory effect on pathogen-induced PID in rats, with a potential mechanism of inhibiting the NF-κB signal pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patrinia scabiosaefolia Fisch (PSF), a well-known traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), has been used as a "heat-clearing and detoxifying" agent. The present study was to illustrate the preventive effect of PSF on pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) in rats. The PID model was constructed by multipathogen infection of the upper genital tract with reference to the method previously reported. Urine metabolomic analysis was conducted with a GC-MS coupled with derivatization method. In this study, PID rats showed obvious infiltration of inflammatory cells and elevated expression of cytokines (IL-1β and IL-6) in upper genital tract, compared with control rats. Sixteen differentiating metabolites contributed to the alteration of metabolic profile in PID rats, including two amino acids, three fat acids, nine organic acids, and two types of sugars. The rats, infected by multipathogen and administered with PSF, showed decreased infiltration of inflammatory cells and lowered expression of cytokines in upper genital tract, compared with PID rats. Meanwhile, PSF intervened in the PID-associated alterations in TCA cycle, sugar metabolism, amino acid metabolism, and other uncertain metabolic pathways. These results indicate that PSF has preventive effect on multipathogen induced PID and holistic interventional effect on disease-associated metabolomic change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]