Although
gastroenteritis and
pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) occur in the gastrointestinal tract and pelvis, respectively, they display similar pathogeneses. The incidence of
inflammation in these conditions is usually associated with
dysbacteriosis, and, at times, they are caused by the same pathogenic bacteria, Escherichia coli and Streptococcus aureus. Feiyangchangweiyan
capsule (FYC) is a traditional Chinese
patent medicine that is widely used to treat bacterial
dysentery and acute and chronic
gastroenteritis. However, whether it has an effect on PID is unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the anti-inflammatory effect of FYC and its main components,
gallic acid (GA),
ellagic acid (EA), and
syringin (SY), on a pathogen-induced PID model and illustrate their potential mechanism of action. Female specific pathogen-free SD rats (n = 1110) were randomly divided into control, PID, FYC, GA, EA, SY, GA + EA, GA + SY, EA + SY, GA + EA + SY, and Fuke Qianjin
capsule (FKC) positive groups. Histological examination and
enzyme-linked
immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were carried out as well as western blot analysis to detect the expression of NF-κB, BAX, BCL-2, and JNK. In this study, FYC and its main components dramatically suppressed the infiltration of inflammatory cells, reduced the production of IL-1β, TNF-α, and MCP-1, and elevated the
IL-10 level to varying degrees. We also found that FYC and its main components inhibited the expression of BAX induced by
infection and increased the expression of Bcl-2. FYC, GA, EA, and SY could also block the activation of the NF-κB pathway. Finally, we found that the phosphorylation of JNK could be decreased by FYC, GA, and SY. FYC and its main components exhibit anti-inflammatory effect on a pathogen-induced PID model by regulating the NF-κB and apoptosis signaling pathways.