Barnwal P, Vafa A, Afzal S M, Shahid A, Hasan S K, Sultana S
Section of Molecular Carcinogenesis and Chemoprevention, Department of Medical Elementology and Toxicology, Faculty of Science, Jamia Hamdard (Hamdard University), New Delhi, India.
Hum Exp Toxicol. 2018 Jul;37(7):752-761. doi: 10.1177/0960327117735572. Epub 2017 Oct 11.
Benzo(a)pyrene (B(a)P) is an environmental pollutant which causes various lung toxicities. The present study was designed to evaluate the protective effects of carvacrol, a monoterpenic phenol against B(a)P-induced lung toxicity. In this study, Swiss albino mice were pretreated with carvacrol (25 mg/kg and 50 mg/kg) orally for 7 consecutive days before administering oral B(a)P (125 mg/kg). Preventive efficacy of carvacrol was assessed in terms of membrane oxidation, antioxidant enzyme activities, histopathological changes, and inflammatory (iNOS, NF-κB, and COX-2) markers. Carvacrol pretreatment in the two doses restored B(a)P-induced lipid peroxidation and increased the activities of antioxidant enzymes. Protein expressions of iNOS, NF-κB, and COX-2 in the lung tissue were found to be upregulated by B(a)P. Carvacrol treatment, however, downregulated their expressions by decreasing the marker of positive stained cells and restored the histopathological architecture of lung tissue. Our results suggest that carvacrol can be used as a protective agent against B(a)P-induced lung toxicity and inflammation.
苯并(a)芘（B(a)P）是一种会引发多种肺部毒性的环境污染物。本研究旨在评估香芹酚（一种单萜酚）对B(a)P诱导的肺部毒性的保护作用。在本研究中，瑞士白化小鼠在口服B(a)P（125 mg/kg）之前，连续7天口服香芹酚（25 mg/kg和50 mg/kg）进行预处理。从膜氧化、抗氧化酶活性、组织病理学变化以及炎症（诱导型一氧化氮合酶、核因子κB和环氧化酶-2）标志物方面评估香芹酚的预防效果。两个剂量的香芹酚预处理均恢复了B(a)P诱导的脂质过氧化，并提高了抗氧化酶的活性。发现肺组织中诱导型一氧化氮合酶、核因子κB和环氧化酶-2的蛋白表达因B(a)P而上调。然而，香芹酚处理通过减少阳性染色细胞标志物下调了它们的表达，并恢复了肺组织的组织病理学结构。我们的结果表明，香芹酚可作为一种针对B(a)P诱导的肺部毒性和炎症的保护剂。
