Effect of curcumin on lung injury induced by skeletal muscle ischemia/reperfusion in rats

BACKGROUND: The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of curcumin on lung damage following ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury after hind limb ligation.
METHODS: Forty Wistar rats were divided into four groups: sham (G1), I/R (G2), curcumin plus sham (G3), and curcumin plus I/R (G4). Curcumin was administered (200 mg/kg) daily for 2 weeks before the study. I/R was induced by placement of rubber tourniquets at the greater trochanters for 2 h, followed by reperfusion for 4 h.
RESULTS: Curcumin pretreatment had significantly lower level of malondialdehydes and higher level of superoxide dismutase in the lung tissues (p<0.05) than the I/R group. Glutathione peroxidase activity was not significantly different among the groups (p>0.05). I/R caused severe histopathological injury (p<0.05), including inflammatory cell infiltration and intra-alveolar hemorrhage.
CONCLUSION: These results suggest that curcumin pretreatment has protective effects against lung injury induced by muscle I/R.