Prophylactic Efficacy of Rhodiola rosea Extract against Hypobaric Hypoxia-Induced Pulmonary Injuries in Rats and its Toxicity Evaluation.

[摘要] People travel to high altitude for leisure and work purposes and if not acclimatized, develop highaltitude illnesses. In traditional medicine system, Rhodiola rosea is being used for the prevention of highaltitude sickness and lung injuries. The present study was designed to evaluate the effects of prophylacticadministration of Rhodiola rosea hydro-ethanolic extract (RRE; 100 and 250 mg/kg body weight) on pulmonaryinjuries of rats exposed to hypobaric hypoxia (7620 m, 6 h). The protective efficacy was assessed usingpulmonary damage markers, oxidative stress markers, and lung histology. The results demonstrated that RREsignificantly (p < 0.05) attenuated the hypoxia-induced increase in lung water content; protein, albumin, andlactate dehydrogenase levels in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid; lipid peroxidation and antioxidants (GSH, SOD,and CAT) in lung homogenate, and also restored changes in lung histology. The toxicity profile of RRE indicatedthat LD was > 5000 mg/kg b.w. and its long-term administration (28 days) didn’t cause any toxic effects; RRE50 was free from heavy metals and its HPLC analysis revealed the presence of active constituents, salidroside androsavins. These results suggested that RRE is non-toxic and its pulmoprotective effects may be attributed tothe anti-oxidant properties of RRE.

[学科分类] 工程和技术（综合）

[关键词] edema;hypoxia;lung;oxidative stress;Rhodiola rosea