The cytoprotective effects of Ferula pseudalliacea Rech. f. methanol extract in rats with bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis

In this study, it was aimed to analyze the content of the methanol extract of Ferula pseudalliacea Rech. f.—a plant traditionally used in folk medicine for conditions such as stomach pain, hysteria, infant colic, and asthma, and reported to have a wide range of biological activities including antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-HIV, and antiprotozoal effects—and to evaluate its potential protective activity through bioactive molecules in a bleomycin-induced experimental pulmonary fibrosis model in rats. The study further aimed to investigate whether this extract could offer protective effects against pulmonary fibrosis, which remains difficult to treat, as well as whether it could mitigate adverse effects of chemotherapeutic agents like bleomycin that are known to cause fibrosis. A total of 32 male Wistar albino rats aged 2–3 months and weighing 190–220 g were used under standard housing conditions. Animals were obtained from the Experimental Medicine Research and Application Center of Van Yüzüncü Yıl University and divided into four groups of eight rats each. Group 1 served as the control group; Group 2 received a single intratracheal dose of 7,5 mg/kg bleomycin; Group 3 was administered 200 mg/kg F. pseudalliacea Rech. f. methanol extract orally for 30 days; and Group 4 received both the extract (200 mg/kg, orally for 30 days) and a single dose of bleomycin (7,5 mg/kg, intratracheally). On day 30, all rats were euthanized under anesthesia with 10 mg/kg xylazine and 90 mg/kg intraperitoneal ketamine, and tissue samples were collected for histopathological and biochemical analyses. In histopathological evaluations, it was observed that lung damage induced by BLM was markedly reduced in the group treated with the methanol extract of F. pseudalliacea Rech. f. The absence of tissue toxicity related to the extract was considered an important finding. In biochemical analyses, no significant differences were detected in hydroxyproline levels; however, in the group receiving only the extract, a significant increase in TAS levels and significant decreases in TOS and OSI levels were observed. These findings suggest that the extract has the potential to support antioxidant defense and regulate oxidative stress. In conclusion, the F. pseudalliacea Rech. f. extract provided histopathological improvement in the experimental lung fibrosis model and exhibited favorable effects on certain biochemical parameters. These results indicate that the antifibrotic potential of the plant extract should be further supported by advanced experimental studies. Keywords: Ferula pseudalliacea Rech. f., Bleomycin, Pulmonary Fibrosis, Lung, Rat