The protective effects of different dosages of curcumin on lung injury of rats in dry heat environment / 中华急诊医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To study the protective effects of different concentrations of curcumin on lung injury of rats in dry heat environment.Methods:Fifty Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly (random number) divided into five groups ( n = 10 each group) normal control group (NC), dry heat control group (DHC), and three different concentrations of curcumin pretreated dry-heat groups (50 mg/kg, 100 mg/kg, and 200 mg/kg). Rats in the NC and DHC groups were given a gavage of normal saline, and rats in the curcumin pretreatment groups were given a gavage of curcumin with different concentrations, once a day for 7 consecutive days. At 8th day, all groups except for the NC group were transferred to the climate cabin (The Simulated Climate Cabin for Special Environment of Northwest of China), with a temperature of (41 ± 0.5) and relative humidity of (10 ± 1)%. Rats in each group were anesthetized and sampled after reaching the state of heat stroke at 150 min, and same done to the NC group. Lung tissues were harvested and pathological changes were observed by HE staining. Lung wet/dry (W/D) weight ratio was detected and lung injury indicators such as total protein, white blood cell count and neutrophil count in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were also determined. Results:The lung injury pathology score, W/D weight ratio, total protein, white blood cell count and neutrophil count in BALF were the lowest in the NC group, and the highest in the DHC group, with significant difference ( P <0.01). With the increase of the concentration in the curcumin pretreatment groups, lung injury pathology score, W/D weight ratio, total protein, white blood cell count and neutrophil count in BALF were all declined. There were significant differences among the different concentration groups of curcumin and the NC and DHC groups ( P <0.01). Correlation analysis indicated that lung injury scores were correlated with W/D weight ratio of lung tissue, alveolar total protein content in BALF, white blood cell count, and neutrophil count (correlation coefficient r = 0.879, r = 0.935, r = 0.916, and r = 0.880, respectively, P <0.01). Conclusions:Pretreatment with different concentrations of curcumin can exert protective effects on lung injury of heat stroke rats in dry heat environment. Curcumin may have important clinical value in prevention and treatment of lung injury caused by heat stroke in dry heat environment.