Phenolic fraction of Elsholtzia penduliflora W.W.Sm. ameliorates influenza A virus-induced acute lung injury by inhibiting the IDO-1-mitochondria-STAT1 signaling axis.
Liu Y, Chen S, Zhang J, Wang L, Li R
Ethnobotany
An herb long brewed by Miao healers in southwestern China to fight respiratory infections has now been shown in lab and animal studies to outperform the molecular mechanisms behind severe flu — a reminder that ethnobotanical traditions in your region may harbor untested medicines worth documenting before they disappear.
Scientists tested a plant used for generations by indigenous communities in China to treat flu and chest infections, and found that a specific group of compounds extracted from it — called phenolics — can powerfully reduce lung damage caused by the influenza virus. The extract works by calming down a runaway immune response that normally makes severe flu so dangerous, essentially turning off a molecular alarm system that causes the body to damage its own lung tissue. This gives scientific backing to a traditional remedy and opens a new angle for developing flu treatments.
Key Findings
The phenolic-rich fraction (EP) of Elsholtzia penduliflora significantly reduced viral titers, lung injury scores, inflammation, and cell death in both mouse models and human lung cells infected with H1N1 influenza.
EP reversed H1N1-induced disruption of the tryptophan-kynurenine metabolic pathway by downregulating the enzyme IDO-1, a key regulator of immune metabolism.
When IDO-1 was artificially reactivated using an agonist compound (3-MI), the protective effects of EP — including reduction of mitochondrial damage, ROS accumulation, and STAT1 signaling — were abolished, confirming IDO-1 as the critical target.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Researchers discovered that a compound extracted from a traditional Chinese medicinal herb called Elsholtzia penduliflora can significantly reduce severe flu-related lung damage by blocking a specific immune-metabolic pathway that drives harmful inflammation.
Abstract Preview
Severe influenza is driven by immunometabolic dysregulation, highlighting the need for novel therapeutic strategies. Elsholtzia penduliflora W.W.Sm. (E. penduliflora) is a traditional ethnomedicine...
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
Species Mentioned
Was this useful?
Want to tell us more? (optional)
Thanks for the note!
Something went wrong — please try again.
Too many submissions. Try again in an hour.
Ancient DNA Reveals Pre-Columbian Amazonian Forest Management at Scale
Forests and fruits we romanticize as wild — including many plants now in our kitchens and gardens — may exist in their current abundance precisely because an...
Elsholtzia is a plant genus in the Lamiaceae. It is widespread across much of temperate and tropical Asia from Siberia south to China, Northeastern India, Indonesia, etc. The genus was named in honour of the Prussian naturalist Johann Sigismund Elsholtz.SpeciesElsholtzia amurensis Prob. - Amur re...