Comparative study between Ephedra sinica Stapf and Fructus Schisandrae Chinensis on ET-1 and 6-keto-prostaglandin F1α in rats with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

The aim of this study was to evaluate differences in the effects of Ephedra sinica Stapf and Fructus Schisandrae Chinensis on angiogenesis in the treatment of bleomycin-induced rat idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. The rat models were created using bleomycin. The animals were divided into six groups: model, control, Ephedra alone, Schisandrae alone, combination of Ephedra and Schisandrae, and hydrocortisone alone. The treatments were administered for 28 days. After 7 and 28 days, the rats were sacrificed for pathological morphology examination, microvascular density determination, and angiogenesis-related cytokine examination. The Ephedra and hydrocortisone groups demonstrated significantly reduced alveolitis and pulmonary fibrosis grades compared with the model group (P < 0.05). The number of blood vessels in the Ephedra group was higher than that in the Schisandrae and combination therapy groups. At 7 days, the expression level of endothelin (ET)-1 in the model group was significantly higher than that in the normal group (P < 0.01). The level of 6-keto-prostaglandin F1α (6-keto-PGF1α) in the treatment group increased, and there were significant differences between the Ephedra group and the combination therapy and normal groups (P < 0.05). Ephedra inhibited the increase in the lung coefficient. The combination therapy prevented pulmonary artery injury and angiogenesis of the arteries by reducing the level of ET-1 and promoting the level of 6-keto-PGF1α in the blood. Ephedra and Schisandrae prevented alveolitis and the development of pulmonary fibrosis.