Arctigenin protects mice from thioglycollate‐induced acute peritonitis

Acute peritonitis is an acute inflammatory response of the peritoneal cavity to physical injury and chemical stimulation. Timely resolution of this response is critical to prevent further damage to the body, which can eventually lead to more severe chronic inflammation. Arctigenin (ATG) is the main active ingredient of the Chinese medicine Arctium lappa. In recent years, there have been an increasing number of studies on the anti‐inflammatory effect of ATG, but there have been few studies on the effect of ATG on acute inflammation, especially in acute peritonitis, which has not been reported. In this study, a mouse model of experimental acute peritonitis induced by thioglycolate (TG) solution was used to study the protective anti‐inflammatory effect of ATG against acute peritonitis and the relevant mechanism. Our results showed that, after 12 hours of TG treatment, ATG significantly reduced inflammatory cell infiltration in mouse tissues and inhibited the secretion and expression of interleukin‐6 (IL‐6) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF‐α) in mice. ATG significantly reduced the percentage of CD11b(+)Ly6G(+) neutrophils and F4/80(+) macrophages in the spleen and peritoneal exudate. In addition, ATG significantly inhibited the expression of the chemokines CCL3 and CCL4 and the adhesion molecule CD62L on the surface of CD11b‐positive monocytes. ATG was observed to inhibit the phosphorylation of p65 and p38 in LPS‐stimulated RAW264.7 cells. In conclusion, ATG can improve the symptoms of TG‐induced acute peritonitis through immune regulation. ATG can reduce the inflammatory response in TG‐induced acute peritonitis in mice.