Ophiopogon root (Radix Ophiopogonis) prevents ultra-structural damage by SO 2 in an epithelial injury model for studies of mucociliary transport D.W. O’Brien, M.I. Morris, M.S. Lee, S. Tai, M. King * Heritage Medical Research Centre, Room 173, Pulmonary Research Group, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2S2 Received 25 March 2003; accepted 18 September 2003 Abstract We studied the action of the herb, Ophiopogon root (OR) in a epithelial injury model, hypothesizing that it may have beneficial effects on mucociliary transport following injury to the palate induced by sodium metabisulphite (MB) which releases SO 2 on contact with water. OR (extract from 1g of root/ml)-incubated palates and non–incubated palates were compared to assess the effect of MB on mucociliary clearance on the bull frog palate. MB 10 À 1 M, acutely increased mucociliary clearance time (MCT) by 254.5 F 57.3% in untreated and 243.3 F 98.5% in OR-incubated palates, (over all significance assessed by one-way ANOVA, F = 12.82, p < 0.001, df = 8,54 for MB and F = 10.56, p < 0.001, df = 8,54 for OR). MCT returned to normal during recovery in OR-treated palates following MB. In untreated palates, MCT did not return to control values during a similar recovery period. ANOVA comparing MCTs in the recovery period in untreated vs OR-treated palates was significantly different (F = 2.92, p < 0.03, df = 5,36). SEM images of epithelial tissue, analyzed by morphometry, showed a 25 F 12% loss of ciliated cells in untreated palates and little or no damage to cilia in OR-treated palates. Intact groups of ciliated cells were found in SEM micrographs of mucus from MB-treated palates. We conclude that the loss of cilia or ciliated cells prevented full recovery of MCT after MB in untreated palates. In OR-incubated palates, mucociliary transport was completely restored within 20 min after topical application of MB, possibly through a protective action on the extra-cellular matrix. D 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Keywords: Mucociliary clearance; Epithelial injury model; Ophiopogonin root; Extra-cellular matrix; Sodium metabisulphite 0024-3205/$ - see front matter D 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.lfs.2003.09.067 * Corresponding author. Tel.: +1-780-492-6703; fax: +1-780-492-4878. E-mail address: malcolm.king@ualberta.ca (M. King). www.elsevier.com/locate/lifescie Life Sciences 74 (2004) 2413 – 2422