Evaluating the ameliorative potential of plant flavonoids and their nanocomposites in bleomycin induced idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Abstract

Introduction: Pulmonary Fibrosis can severely disrupt lung function. The cause of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) is still unclear. The treatment currently available for IPF provides minimal benefits. Bleomycin is used in research to induce experimental pulmonary fibrosis in animals. Plant flavonoids such as fisetin and curcumin are known for their anti-inflammatory properties. The aim was to demonstrate the path of physiological changes in bleomycin induced IPF and to further evaluate the reversal and ameliorative potentials of some plant flavonoids and their nanocomposites. Bleomycin administration is known to damage the lung epithelial cells resulting in lower cell numbers.

Results: Our colony forming assay in BALF also demonstrated a reduction (1.65 fold) in colony-forming unit after bleomycin administration. The number of colonies increased upon treatment with fisetin(1.20 fold) and curcumin (1.13 fold) respectively. MTT proliferation assay demonstrated a significant increase in the number of viable cells upon treatment with curcumin (1.42 fold) and fisetin (1.74 fold) respectively, in the lung. The NBT assay demonstrated a significant effect of curcumin in BALF, lung and peripheral blood. A significant effect of fisetin was observed in BALF and peripheral blood.

Conclusion: These findings were also supported by the histological analyses of the lung samples. Curcumin showed highestpotential for the treatment of IPF and fisetin showed its ameliorative effect.