Does Inhalation of Virgin Coconut Oil Accelerate Reversal of Airway Remodelling in an Allergic Model of Asthma?

Figure 3

Structural changes of the airway. (a) Illustration of the epithelium, mucosa, and submucosa measurement area for H&E stained slides. The mucosa area ranges from the epithelial cell to the end of the basement membrane (BM). The submucosa area ranges from the smooth muscle (SM) to the end of the cartilage (C). The measurements were in microns (μm). (b) Thickness measurements of airway structures. The boxplot shows the measurements (mean ± SD) made for three parameters: epithelium, mucosa, and submucosa. (c) Morphometric analysis of airway structure of airway lumen. The data were subjected to the two-sided nonparametric analysis using SPSS software. The outliers represent high and low data readings. was considered to be statistically significant. (d) H&E staining for each treatment group. (A) Control, (B) OVA-induced injury, (C) VCO as a rescue agent, and (D) VCO as a preventive agent. Following OVA inhalation, the epithelium (E) was thicker as compared to the control animal. Infiltration of inflammatory cells (I) was also found in the airway lumen (L), indicating that the injury was developed. Following VCO inhalation, airway remodelling (epithelium, mucosa, and submucosa structure) was reduced compared to the OVA-induced injury group. I, inflammatory cell infiltration; E, epithelium; SM, smooth muscle; C, cartilage; L, airway lumen.