Echinacea purpurea extract (cichoric acid) exerts an anti-inflammatory effect on yak PBMCs and regulates the TLR4 signalling pathway

Introduction: Inflammation is one of the main causes of impaired health in livestock and some of its processes weaken animal productivity and impact human health. The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of echinacea extract (cichoric acid - CA) on yak peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), inflammatory-related factors, and the toll-like receptor (TLR)4 signalling pathway induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in these PBMCs. Material and Methods: Yak PBMCs were co-cultured with LPS and CA in vitro. The proliferative activity of cells was detected using the cell-counting kit-8 method, the optimal stimulation concentration of LPS was selected, the effect of CA on the content of inflammation-related factors was evaluated using an ELISA kit, and the mRNA expression of these factors was detected by RT-PCR. Results: CA inhibited the inflammatory response of yak PBMCs induced by LPS. CA inhibited gene and protein expression of key nodes of the TLR4 signalling pathway in yak PBMCs. Conclusion: It is suggested that CA has anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects on yak PBMCs via the TLR4 pathway.