crocin and Acute-Lung-Injury

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has been emerging as a great health problem in world. Cigarette smoke is known to cause oxidative stress and deplete glutathione (GSH) levels. Nuclear erythroid-related factor 2 (Nrf2) is involved in transcriptional regulation of glutamate-cysteine ligase catalytic subunit (GCLc). Antioxidant compounds may be of therapeutic value in monitoring disease progression. Crocin demonstrates antioxidant and anti-inflammatory functions. The aim of this study was to investigate the protective role of crocin against CSE-mediated oxidative stress, inflammatory process, Nrf2 modifications and impairment of cardiac function in rats with COPD.. Eighty rats were divided into four groups: Control, Cigarette smoke exposure (CSE), Crocin, Crocin+CS. Each group was divided into the two parts: 1) to evaluate lung inflammatory and oxidative process, 2) to evaluate the effect of Cigarette smoke induced-lung injuries on cardiac electrocardiogram (such as heart rate and QRS complex) and hemodynamic parameters (such as perfusion pressure and left ventricular developed pressure).. CSE rats showed a significant increase in cotinine concentration (17.24 ng/ml), and inflammatory parameters and a decrease in PO. CS induced-COPD in rat model provides evidence that chronic CS exposure leads to lung injury and mediated cardiac dysfunction. Crocin co-treatment by modulating of Nrf2 pathway protected lung injury caused by COPD and its related cardiac dysfunction. In this study, we showed the importance of Nrf2 activators as a therapeutic target for the development of novel therapy for lung oxidative injuries.

Topics: Acute Lung Injury; Animals; Antioxidants; Carotenoids; Crocus; Disease Models, Animal; Heart Diseases; Lipid Peroxidation; Male; NF-E2-Related Factor 2; Nicotiana; Oxidative Stress; Phytotherapy; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Smoke

We aimed to evaluate the effect of natural antioxidant crocin in alleviating hemorrhagic shock (HS)-induced organ damages. HS rats were treated with crocin during resuscitation. Mortality at 12h and 24h post resuscitation was documented. HS and resuscitation induced organ injuries, as characterized by elevated wet/dry ratio, quantitative assessment ratio, blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase, whereas rats received crocin treatment demonstrated improvements in all the above characteristics. This protective effect coincided with reduced malondialdehyde and increased glutathione in both serum and lung tissues, indicating attenuated oxidative stress in crocin-treated rats. Myeloperoxide levels in lung, kidney and liver were also reduced. Crocin can potentially be used to protect organs from HS-induced damages during resuscitation due to its anti-oxidative role.

Topics: Acute Lung Injury; Alanine Transaminase; Animals; Aspartate Aminotransferases; Carotenoids; Glutathione; Kidney; Liver; Lung; Male; Malondialdehyde; Oxidative Stress; Peroxidase; Protective Agents; Rats, Wistar; Shock, Hemorrhagic

Crocin, a representative of carotenoid compounds, exerts a spectrum of activities including radical scavenger, anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory properties. To investigate the protective effect of crocin on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced acute lung injury (ALI) in mice. ALI was induced in mice by intratracheal instillation of LPS (1 mg/kg). The mice received intragastric injection of crocin (50 mg/kg) 1 h before LPS administration. Pulmonary histological changes were evaluated by hematoxylineosin stain and lung wet/dry weight ratios were observed. Concentrations of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-1β and nitric oxide (NO), and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity were measured by enzymelinked immunosorbent assay. Expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in lung tissues was determined by Western blot analysis. Crocin pretreatment significantly alleviated the severity of lung injury and inhibited the production of TNF-α and IL-1β in mice with ALI. After LPS administration, the lung wet/dry weight ratios, as an index of lung edema, and MPO activity were also markedly reduced by crocin pretreatment. Crocin pretreatment also reduced the concentrations of NO in lung tissues. Furthermore, the expression of iNOS was significantly suppressed by crocin pretreatment. Croncin potently protected against LPS-induced ALI and the protective effects of crocin may attribute partly to the suppression of iNOS expression.

Topics: Acute Lung Injury; Animals; Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid; Carotenoids; Interleukin-1beta; Interleukin-6; Lipopolysaccharides; Lung; Male; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C; NF-kappa B; Nitric Oxide; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha