Inhibition of bleomycin-induced lung damage in mice by curcumin

ABSTRACT

The present study investigated the protective effect of curcumin administration on the development of lung injury produced by intranasal instillation of a single dose of bleomycin hydrochloride in adult male mice. Twenty four adult male mice were used for the present study. The animals were divided into four groups. All animals were intranasally instilled with either normal saline or bleomycin hydrochloride [0.5 mg for each mouse]. Curcumin was administered by gastric intubation to half of both bleomycin-instilled and normal saline-instilled animals ten [lays before intranasal instillation, and then daily until fifteen days post-instillation. At the end of the study, all animals were sacrificed and the lungs were dissected and processed for histological and immunocytochemnical examinations. The results showed that daily oral administration of curcumin reduced the lung damage induced by bleomycin instillation as evidenced by less inflammatory cells, less deposition of collagen, less thickening of alveolar sepia and less collapse of alveolar spaces. Compared to those receiving bleomycin alone, the results of this study suggested that administration of curcumin was useful in reducing lung damage induced by bleomycin and raised the possibility of efficient treatment of human pulmonary fibrotic disease