Thymoquinone in the treatment of lipopolysaccharide- induced acute lung İNJURY

Aim: ALI/ARDS is an important clinical problem which is encountered mostly in intensive care units. Most of the treatment is still supportive. Thymoquinone is a bioactive compotent derived from nigella oil which has anti-inflammatory, spasmolytic, bronchodilator and antibacterial effects. On this study, we created a model of ARDS inducing with lipopolysaccaride on BALB/C mice and also we researched the treatment efficacy of thymoquinone on this model. Material and Method: Twenty-eight male BALB/C mice were randomly chosen and divided into four groups (n=7, each). Control group; Thymoquinone group (3 mg/kg); lipopolysaccaride group (5mg/kg); Thymoquinone+Lipopolysaccarite group. Thymoquinone was performed by intraperitoneal way 1 hour before intra-tracheal lipopolysaccarite implementation. With lipopolysaccarite implementation, mice were sacrificed 6 hours later and their lungs were removed out for histopathological examination. Results: When lung tissue sections were histopathologically examined, in the group which was treated with thymoquinone a decrease was detected in neutrophil infiltration, intraalveolar hemorrhage and alveolar damage. Discussion: This study indicates that thymoquinone may have protective effect against acute lung injury which was induced with lipopolysaccarite.