Published online Jul 19, 2026. doi: 10.5498/wjp.117078
Revised: February 9, 2026
Accepted: April 10, 2026
Published online: July 19, 2026
Processing time: 169 Days and 13.2 Hours
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a lung disease characterized by airflow limitation and incomplete reversibility. Apple polyphenols (AP) are secondary compounds widely present in apple metabolites. Although AP has a protective effect against acute lung injury, its effects on inflammatory factors, anxiety, and depression in rat models of acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) have not been studied.
To investigate the effects of AP on inflammatory factor levels and anxiety/de
AECOPD rat models were established using cigarette smoke inhalation and airway lipopolysaccharide injection. Seventy-two rats were divided into 6 groups: Control; model; low-dose AP (AP-L); middle-dose AP (AP-M); high-dose AP (AP-H); and AP-H + mcc950 [NOD-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inhibitor]. Body weight, pulmonary function, pathological changes, and serum, lung, and prefr
Body weight, peak expiratory flow, peak inspiratory flow, forced expiratory volume in 0.3 seconds to forced vital capacity ratio, sucrose preference, total distance traveled, entries into and duration of stay in the central area in model group rats were reduced, while IL-6, TNF-α, IL-1β, miR-21, MDA, and LDH levels, and NLRP3 expression increased. Body weight, peak expiratory flow, peak inspiratory flow, forced expiratory volume in 0.3 seconds to forced vital capacity ratio, sucrose preference, total distance, entries into and duration of stay in the central area in the AP-L, AP-M, AP-H and AP-H + mcc950 groups increased, while NLRP3 IL-6, TNF-α, IL-1β, miR-21, MDA, and LDH levels, and NLRP3 expression were reduced. The efficacy of AP-H was superior to that of AP-M and AP-L, and mcc950 enhanced the protective effect of AP-H.
AP effectively improves body weight and lung function, reduces inflammatory cytokine and anxiety/depression levels, and alleviates pathological damage in rats with AECOPD, and is associated with downregulation of NLRP3 expression.
Core Tip: This study investigated the effects of apple polyphenols (AP) in a rat model of acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Results demonstrated that AP treatment, particularly at high doses, effectively improved lung function and body weight and reduced pathological damage. It significantly downregulated the expression of NOD-like receptor protein 3 in lung tissue, leading to decreased levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and oxidative stress markers in the serum, lung tissue, and prefrontal lobe tissue. Concurrently, AP alleviated anxiety and depression-like behaviors in acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease model animals. This mechanism is associated with NOD-like receptor protein 3 pathway suppression.