Objective To investigate the mechanism of liver-soothing and stomach-harmonizing recipe alleviating airway inflammation in rats with gastroesophageal reflux disease(GERD)by regula-ting peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ/retinoid X receptor(PPAR-γ/RXR)signaling path-way.Methods A rat model of GERD with airway inflammation was established by perfusion of hydro-chloric acid into the lower esophagus.A total of 50 SD male rats were randomly divided into control group,model group,low-dose liver-soothing and stomach-harmonizing recipe group(10.49 g/kg crude drug dosage),high-dose liver-soothing and stomach-harmonizing recipe group(20.98 g/kg crude drug dosage),and omeprazole group(3.67 mg/kg),with 10 rats in each group.The rats were gavaged for 14 days.Hematoxylin and eosin(HE)staining was used to observe the pathological change in tracheal tissue.RT-qPCR was used to detect the mRNA expression levels of inflammatory cytokines[interleukin(IL)-17,IL-33,inducible nitric oxide synthase(iNOS)]and anti-inflammatory cytokines[IL-10,Clara cell 16-kDa protein(CC16),surfactant protein-D(SP-D)]in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid;the Western blot was used to detect the relative protein expression levels of PPAR-γ,RXR-α,nuclear factor-KB(NF-κB),and activator protein-1(AP-1).Results The HE staining results showed that a large number of inflammatory cell infiltrations were observed in the model group,while the inflammatory cell infiltrations were significantly reduced in the low-dose liver-sooth-ing and stomach-harmonizing recipe group,high-dose liver-soothing and stomach-harmonizing recipe group,and omeprazole group.Compared with the control group,the mRNA expression levels of IL-17,IL-33 and iNOS in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid were significantly increased while the mRNA expression levels of IL-10,CC16 and SP-D were significantly decreased in the model group,and the relative protein expression levels of PPAR-γ and RXR-α were significantly increased,while the rela-tive protein expression levels of NF-κB and AP-1 were significantly decreased in the model group(P＜0.05).Compared with the model group,the above indicators were significantly improved in the high-dose liver-soothing and stomach-harmonizing recipe group and omeprazole group(P＜0.05).Conclusion Liver-soothing and stomach-harmonizing recipe can effectively alleviate airway inflam-mation in rats with GERD,and its mechanism may be related to the activation of the PPAR-y/RXR signaling pathway.