PHYTOPHARMACEUTICAL PREPARATION OF ESSENTIAL OIL (PPEO) PROMOTES AN ANTI-INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE INDUCED BY INFLUENZA A/H1N1 PDM09 VIRUS INFECTION IN VIVO (Atena Editora)

Abstract

Influenza is an acute self-limited respiratory illness, characterized by inflammatory response, pulmonary infiltrates, vasodilator shock and high mortality. Treatment is focus to the use of a limited set of anti-viral drugs. However, this therapy is expensive and frequently cases of viral drug resistance have been documented. In the present study using clinical scale and histopathological and immunofluorescence analyses, we evaluated the prophylactic and therapeutic effects of an Phytopharmaceutical Preparation of Essential Oil (PPEO), based on cinnamon, guava, propolis, and menthol on influenza A murine model. Both, prophylactic and therapeutic treatments showed moderate clinical signs, as labored breathing, tremors, lethargy. Histopathologically, we observed that the pulmonary architecture is preserved in 80% and 90 % of the alveoli, respectively with no evidence of pulmonary parenchymal consolidation, displaying a very limited inflammatory process. We found only a slight interstitial pneumonitis with few lymphocytic infiltrate in both groups in constrast to infected animals without treatment. Immunofluorescence analysis showed that decrease in the inflammatory process correlated with decrease of Nuclear Factor-kB (NF-kB) translocation to the nucleus. The formulation has a local anti-inflammatory effect, suggesting its potential as coadyuvant treatment for influenza.