Attenuation of Bleomycin-Induced Pulmonary Fibrosis in Wistar Rats by Combination Treatment of Two Natural Phenolic Compounds: Quercetin and Gallic Acid

Abstract

The present study aimed to investigate the protective effects of two potent natural antioxidants, gallic acid and quercetin as single or combination treatment against bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis (PF). A total of 50 Wistar rats were randomly divided into 5 groups. Group 1 and 2 intratracheally received saline and bleomycin (7.5 UI/kg), respectively, on day 7, accompanied by oral saline administration for 28 day. Groups 3, 4, and 5 received a single dose of bleomycin on day 7, accompanied by oral administration of gallic acid, quercetin, and their combination, respectively, for 28 day. Finally, the lungs were removed for biochemical and histopathological tests. The combination treatment demonstrated a remarkable decrease in lung hydroxyproline and TNF-α level and increase in catalase activity as compared with both single phytochemical-treated groups. The combination treatment significantly enhanced lung SOD activity and GSH level and decreased NO and IL-6 levels as compared with quercetin-treated group. However, only combination treatment could decrease the lung index and completely reversed histopathological changes in the bleomycin-treated group. In sum, when compared to a single exposure, the combination treatment might be a more effective approach for PF treatment because of its superior efficacy in reversing lung histological changes in the bleomycin-treated group.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Author Contributions

Saeed Mehrzadi, Pooyan Hosseini, Amir Siahpoosh, Hamidreza Khalili, and Mehdi Goudarzi performed and analyzed the experiments. Mehrnaz Mehrabani contributed into the interpretation of data and writing the manuscript. Alireza Malayeri was the principal author for the grant and contributed to experimental design, supervising the project, and final revising the manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Deputy of Research of Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran (Grant number MPRC-9705).