Protective effects of daphnetin on sodium taurocholate-induced severe acute pancreatitis in rats

Severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) is the sudden onset of pancreatic inflammation, which is characterized by edema, acinar cell necrosis, hemorrhage and severe inflammation of the pancreas and is associated with a high mortality rate. Daphnetin has been shown to alleviate organ injury in a variety of preclinical animal models of coagulation disorders. The aim of the present study was to investigate the protective effects of daphnetin on severe acute pancreatitis in a rat model. Severe acute pancreatitis in the rat model was induced by retrograde infusion of 5% sodium taurocholate (1 ml/kg) into the bile-pancreatic duct. Daphnetin (4 mg/kg) was administered intraperitoneally at 30 min prior to the infusion of sodium taurocholate. The severity of pancreatitis was evaluated by various analyses of serum amylase and lipase, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) levels, myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity and malondialdehyde (MDA) content, as well as by histological grading. The levels of TNF-alpha and IL-1 beta in the serum were measured by ELISA. The results revealed that the daphnetin-treated SAP rat group (SAP-D) exhibited a lower pathological score of the pancreas compared with the SAP group (SAP). Further analyses demonstrated that the SAP-D group had lower levels of serum amylase, lipase and pro-inflammatory cytokines, including TNF-alpha and IL-1 beta, and a decreased MPO activity and MDA content 3,6 and 12 h subsequent to the infusion of sodium taurocholate compared with the SAP group (SAP). These findings indicated that daphnetin exerted a protective function in the SAP rat model. Therefore, daphnetin may be considered as a potential compound for the therapy and prevention of acute pancreatitis.