Pulmonary fibrosis is a progressive
interstitial lung disease with poor prognosis. Anemarrhenae Rhizoma is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine and has been applied in clinical practice for a long history. Recently, components of Anemarrhenae Rhizoma were reported to possess anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory features; however, the effect of them on
pulmonary fibrosis remains unknown. In this study, we explored the
therapeutic effect of total extract of Anemarrhenae Rhizoma (TEAR) on
bleomycin-induced
pulmonary fibrosis.
Pulmonary fibrosis rat model was established by a single intratracheal instillation of
bleomycin, three doses of TEAR were intragastrically administered for consecutive 28 days. Subsequent to sacrificing of rats,
pulmonary fibrosis was observed in rats treated with
bleomycin, but administration of TEAR attenuated lung
fibrosis, as evidenced by the improved lung histopathological damage and decreased
weight loss and lung index. Moreover, TEAR treatment inhibited the inflammatory response in lung
fibrosis, which was shown by the reduced
nitrogen oxide level and
myeloperoxidase activity. Furthermore, TEAR modulated the redox balance in lung tissue by alleviated lipid peroxidation and enhanced enzymatic
antioxidants activity. Meanwhile, TEAR protected the rats from
fibrosis in a dose-dependent manner, and the anti-fibrotic activity of TEAR may be related to the modulation of TGF-β1/Smad signaling pathway. Collectively, TEAR alleviates
bleomycin-induced
pulmonary fibrosis, indicating perspectives for development of a potential agent for lung
fibrosis therapy.