The anti-inflammatory effect of lycopene on neutrophil infiltration in the spleen of mice exposed to Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)

Introduction: Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is a major component of the outer membrane of gram-negative bacteria that can trigger inflammatory and oxidative stress responses. The purpose of this study is to observe the anti-inflammatory effect of lycopene in reducing neutrophil infiltration caused by LPS exposure in mice (Mus musculus). Objective: This laboratory experimental study used 25 male mice aged 3 months with body weights of ± 25 g – 35 g, divided into five groups with five replicates each. C(-) is the control group: no LPS or lycopene was administered. C(+): received LPS 0.042 mg/kg without lycopene. P1: received LPS 0.042 mg/kg and lycopene 0.3 mg/kg. P2: received LPS 0.042 mg/kg and lycopene 0.6 mg/kg. P3: received LPS 0.042 mg/kg and lycopene 0.9 mg/kg. LPS was given intraperitoneally on days 1 and 8, and lycopene was administered daily for 14 days. The spleen is located near the liver. After the organ was removed, it was placed in 10% formalin buffer for HE staining, and data were analyzed using the Kruskall Wallis test followed by the Mann-Whitney test (p<0.05). Results: LPS exposure significantly increased the number of neutrophils (p<0.05), and lycopene administration significantly reduced the number of neutrophils (p<0.05) to normal levels similar to the control (C-) at all doses/groups. Conclusion: LPS exposure was proven to increase the number of neutrophils, and lycopene administration was able to reduce the number of neutrophils to normal levels in all dose groups.