The therapeutic benefit of epicatechin in induced cytokine storm in mice

Background: Cytokine storm is an unbalanced systemic inflammatory response defined by the release of massive quantities of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines that damage tissue and lead to multiple organ failure. Several compounds are being investigated as potential modulators of excessive cytokine release that leads to systemic malfunction. This study aims to assess the therapeutic efficacy of Epicatechin in Swiss albino male mice suffering from cytokine storm induced by lipopolysaccharides (LPS).Methods: Fifty healthy male Swiss albino mice were used for the animal experiment. The mice were separated into 5 groups, each group containing 10 mice. The study involved various groups, including control (AH), lipopolysaccharides (LPS), dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), methylprednisolone (MT) and epicatechin (ET), which received a single injection of 5 mg/kg lipopolysaccharide solution, except the AH group. The groups were injected with various treatments. First, a 1% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) solution was injected into the DMSO group.  50 mg/kg methylprednisolone solution was injected into the MT group. 25 mg/kg epicatechin solution was injected into the ET group. This experiment was conducted till day 8; on the 8th day, certain cytokine storm-related parameters were studied, which included the serum IL-6, TNF-α and IL-1β levels, along with lung tissue pathological changes.Results: The treated groups showed a significant decrease in all measured serum cytokine levels, along with improved lung histopathological changes compared to non-treated groups.Conclusion: Epicatechin effectively reduces all studied serum cytokine levels in mice, thereby mitigating lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced cytokine storm and lung injury.Keywords: 1% DMSO, Lipopolysaccharides, Methylprednisolone, Epicatechin, Cytokines, Cytokine Storm