EXPLORING BETULINIC ACID: A PROMISING THERAPY FOR ASTHMA IN MALE MICE

Background: Betulinic acid (BA) has been proven to contain diverse functions such as anti-cancer effects, anti-HIV, anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-malarial, anti-helminthic, and other pharmaceutical properties. The objective of this study was to assess the immunomodulatory effects of BA on ovalbumin induced airway inflammation in male mice. Methods: Forty healthy BALB/c mice were randomly divided into 4 groups. Group I served as normal control (NC) group. Group II as asthmatic control (AC) group and was sensitized intraperitoneally (IP) with ovalbumin (OVA) at day 0 and challenged at day 14 respectively and from day 15 to 21 was challenged intranasally (I/N) for one week. Group III were treated with OVA (I/N) and concomitantly BA at 5 mg/Kg body weight was given orally, and Group IV were treated with OVA (I/N) and concomitantly dexamethasone (DEX) 2 mg/Kg body weight was given orally for 7 days. Terminal sampling at day 22 was performed for blood TLC and DLC and lung tissue sampling for interleukin 4 by mRNA expression. Results: Betulinic acid significantly lowered both the differential cell count of blood and the mRNA expression of IL-4 in asthmatic model of mice. Conclusion: Betulinic acid manifested similar results when compared to DEX in lowering the pro-inflammatory markers. Pak J Physiol 2024;20(4):40-3, DOI: https://doi.org/10.69656/pjp.v20i4.1725