Protective Effects of Hydroalcoholic Extract of Hypericum Perforatum Against Bleomycin-Induced Pulmonary Fibrosis in Rats

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Pulmonary fibrosis is a chronic interstitial lung disease caused by parenchymal lung damage due to inflammatory factors and fibrosis. Hypericum perforatum contains various flavonoids with antioxidant properties. This study aimed to evaluate protective effects of hydroalcoholic extract of Hypericum against bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis in rats.  METHODS: This empirical study was conducted on 30 Wistar rats weighing 150-180 grams. Animals were randomly divided into five groups of six. Group one received a single dose of normal saline intraperitoneally, and group two was administered with bleomycin (7.5 units per kg) intratracheally. Other groups received daily doses of Hypericum extract (50, 100 and 200 mg/kg) via intraperitoneal injection one week before and two weeks after bleomycin administration. After 21 days, animals were sacrificed, and blood and lungs were collected for histopathological examinations, and measurement of plasma malondialdehyde (MDA) and lung hydroxyproline (HP).     FINDINGS: In this study, lung index, HP and plasma MDA in normal saline group were respectively 7.09±0.32 mg per kilogram of body weight, 1.80±0.23 mg per gram of lung tissue, and 1.32±0.27 micromoles per liter of plasma. In rats administered with bleomycin, these values were 9.75±0.90, 5.43±0.7 and 3.04±0.42, respectively. Treatment with Hypericum extract, especially at dosage of 200 mg/kg, resulted in a significant reduction in the aforementioned parameters compared to bleomycin group (p<0.05).   CONCLUSION: According to the results of this study, hydroalcoholic extract of Hypericum perforatum could exert protective effects against bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosi

Control the bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis by a combination of hypericum extract and niacin

Pulmonary fibrosis is a fatal disease, and is considered as one of the most important side effects of chemotherapy drugs such asbleomycin.The antioxidant properties and anti-inflammatory activities of Hypericum have been confirmed; on the other hand, the inhibition of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase enzyme affected the levels of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) in cells.In the present study, the effects of hypericum perforatum extract in combination with niacin were assessed on bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis. In this study, male rats weighing 160-190 g were used. The animals were randomly divided into the following five groups of six: The control group (NS), which receives normal saline only; the bleomycin group (BLM), which was administrated with anendotracheal single dose of bleomycin sulfate solution after anesthetizing the animals. Hypericumperforatum (HP) group, Niacin group (100 mg/kg),and the combination group (HP + NC). In addition to receiving endotracheal bleomycin, the studied drug was administered intraperitoneally for 21 days. At the end of the study, hydroxy-proline and malondialdehyde were measured, and specific pathology tests were performed in lung tissues to determine the changes that occur in in various groups. The results showed that the lung index (lung weight/body weight), hydroxy-proline content (μg of hydroxyproline/lung), and malondialdehyde in the control group were 0.662±0.03μg, 1156.8±41.5 μg, and 753.7±40.2μg respectively, while the sevalues in the BLM group were1.56± 0.24μg, 4073.4±468.9μg,and 1643.6 ± 129.9μg,respectively. Treatment with the combination of hypericum extract and niacin significantly reduced these factors as compared to the bleomycin group (P < 0.05) .Our results represented a potential protection of hypericum extract and niacin on lung fibrosis induced by bleomycin. This protective effect showed a significant increase when compared to the use of the plant extract or niacin alone

Control the bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis by a combination of hypericum extract and niacin

Pulmonary fibrosis is a fatal disease, and is considered as one of the most important side effects of chemotherapy drugs such as bleomycin. The antioxidant properties and anti-inflammatory activities of Hypericum have been confirmed; on the other hand, the inhibition of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase enzyme affected the levels of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) in cells. In the present study, the effects of hypericum perforatum extract in combination with niacin were assessed on bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis. In this study, male rats weighing 160-190 g were used. The animals were randomly divided into the following five groups of six: The control group (NS), which receives normal saline only; the bleomycin group (BLM), which was administrated with an endotracheal single dose of bleomycin sulfate solution after anesthetizing the animals. Hypericum perforatum (HP) group, Niacin group (100 mg/kg), and the combination group (HP + NC). In addition to receiving endotracheal bleomycin, the studied drug was administered intraperitoneally for 21 days. At the end of the study, hydroxy-proline and malondialdehyde were measured, and specific pathology tests were performed in lung tissues to determine the changes that occur in in various groups. The results showed that the lung index (lung weight/body weight), hydroxy-proline content (μg of hydroxyproline/lung), and malondialdehyde in the control group were 0.662�0.03 μg, 1156.8�41.5 μg, and 753.7�40.2 μg respectively, while these values in the BLM group were 1.56� 0.24 μg, 4073.4�468.9 μg, and 1643.6 � 129.9 μg, respectively. Treatment with the combination of hypericum extract and niacin significantly reduced these factors as compared to the bleomycin group (P < 0.05) .Our results represented a potential protection of hypericum extract and niacin on lung fibrosis induced by bleomycin. This protective effect showed a significant increase when compared to the use of the plant extract or niacin alone