Mogroside V is a widely used sweetener, has in vitro AMPK activating effect, it also has anti-inflammatory potential in murine macrophages and a murine ear edema model, and has the potential to protect against LPS-induced airway inflammation in a model of ALI. Mogroside V has antioxidant properties and possesses tumor growth inhibitory activity in pancreatic cancer models.

Female BALB/c mice were treated with Mogroside V (2.5, 5 and 10 mg/kg) for 1 h prior to intranasal injection of LPS (10 μg in 50 μl). After 12 h, airway inflammation in the ALI model was determined by the wet/dry weight (W/D) ratio, myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity of lung tissue, leukocyte recruitment and cytokine levels in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). Additionally, lung tissue was examined by histology and western blotting to investigate the changes in pathology and the signalling in the presence and absence of Mogroside V. Mogroside V at 5 and 10 mg/kg inhibited airway inflammation induced by LPS as measured by the decrease in the histological changes (44 and 67.3% reduction in lung injury score, respectively), a 28.9 and 55.3% reduction in lung MPO activity, and inflammatory cell counts, interleukin-1β (IL-1β, 382 and 280 pg/ml, respectively), IL-6 (378 and 232 pg/ml, respectively) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α, 12.5 and 7.8 ng/ml, respectively) levels in the BALF. Additionally, Mogroside V treatment reduced the activation of cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2), inducible NO synthase (iNOS), and the nuclear factor (NF)-κB.