Magnolol, a compound extracted from the Chinese medicinal herb Magnolia officinalis, has been proved to exert multiple pharmacological effects, including
anti-oxidant and anti-
inflammation activities. In this study, how it influenced
bleomycin-induced lung
fibrosis of rats was investigated. A single intratracheal instillation of
bleomycin (5 mg/Kg, sacrificed 7 and 28 days post
bleomycin instillation) caused
body weight decrease and lung indices increase. Hodroxyproline content,
myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity,
tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and
transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) levels increased in the rat lung tissues after
bleomycin administration, while
superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity decreased in the rat lung tissues.
Collagen were excessively deposited in rat lung tissues after
bleomycin treatment. However,
oral administration of
magnolol (10 mg/Kg, 20 mg/Kg, 30 mg/Kg) apparently and significantly inhibited the fibrotic process. It partly reversed the
bleomycin-induced increase of
hydroxyproline content, MPO activity, TNF-α and TGF-β levels in the lung tissues, significantly inhibited the
bleomycin-induced decrease of SOD activity, Excessive
collagen deposition was also inhibited by
magnolol administration. In summary, our results suggested that
magnolol might be a potent anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic agent against
bleomycin-induced lung
fibrosis.