Toona sinensis leaf aqueous extract displays activity against sepsis in both in vitro and in vivo models.

Toona sinensis (TS) leaves are used as a vegetable and in traditional Chinese medicine. However, in vivo experiments regarding the anti-inflammatory function of TS leaves have not previously been conducted. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential role of TS leaf extract (TSL) in the prevention of sepsis-induced lung injury in vivo and on macrophage activation in vitro. The results showed that oral gavage pretreatment with TSL in rats for 30 days improved the survival of cecal ligation and puncture-induced sepsis, potentially by attenuating sepsis-induced histological lung damage rather than inflammatory cell infiltration. Furthermore, we demonstrated that pretreatment with TSL attenuated the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase, thereby inhibiting nitric oxide production and release in murine macrophage-like RAW 264.7 cells. Interestingly, TSL did not affect the LPS-induced release of other cytokines (e.g., tumor necrosis factor α and interleukin 1β) but increased LPS-induced heme-oxygenase-1 expression. In conclusion, the study provides preliminary data for TSL on cecal ligation and puncture-induced sepsis. The beneficial impact of TSL needs extensive study to get solid evidence.