Bawei Chenxiang Pills Exert Anti-Myocardial Ischemia Effect by Inhibiting Inflammation Through the TLR4/NF-κB/NLRP3 Signaling Pathway.

Ischemic heart disease (IHD) ranks among the most lethal cardiovascular diseases globally. As one of the traditional ethnic medical systems, Tibetan medicine has demonstrated remarkable therapeutic efficacy. In this study, the ethanol extract of Bawei Chenxiang Pills (CT) was evaluated in an acute myocardial ischemia mouse model. The results demonstrated that CT significantly enhanced myocardial contractility and inhibited ventricular dilation, improved cardiac histopathology, lowered the heart-to-body weight ratio in AMI mice, and reduced the release of lactate dehydrogenase and creatine kinase-MB, downregulated inflammatory mediators interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-18, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and inhibited activation of the toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)/nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB)/NOD-like receptor pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP3) signaling pathway, thereby protecting myocardial cell membrane integrity. Moreover, in the lipopolysaccharide/adenosine 5'-triphosphate-induced inflammatory RAW264.7 cell model, CT reduced nitric oxide levels in the cell supernatant, inhibited NF-κB nuclear translocation, reduced NLRP3 protein expression, and suppressed the transcription of IL-1β, IL-18, and TNF-α. Overall, these findings suggest that CT exerts significant anti-myocardial ischemia effects, primarily by modulating the TLR4/NF-κB/NLRP3 pathway to attenuate myocardial inflammatory responses.