Antioxidative Effects of Crocin-loaded Noisome in Paraquat-induced Oxidative Stress in Lung Rat

Crocin is a valuable natural chemical component of saffron with antioxidant properties. This compound could be beneficial against intoxication with oxidant herbicides, including paraquat. Paraquat is widely used to fight pests in agriculture. The present study intended to assess the effects of crocin and nanocrocin on acute paraquat-induced oxidative toxic stress and toxicity in lung rats. Thirty male Wistar rats were orally subjected to paraquat (5 mg/kg) along with crocin or nanocrocin (IP, 20 mg/kg) for seven successive days. The oxidative toxic stress biomarkers were evaluated by assessing total antioxidant capacity (TAC), total thiol groups (TTG), and lipid peroxidation (LPO), and examined the lung fibrosis by hydroxyproline level. Paraquat increased LPO and hydroxyproline and decreased TAC and TTG levels. Nanocrocin reduced LPO and hydroxyproline and increased TAC and TTG compared to crocin in the paraquat-induced toxicity in the rats. The results showed that nanocrocin had more preservative effects than crocin to defend against the progression of paraquat-induced lung injury, probably via modulation of oxidative stress. Nanocrocin could be a promising medication to prevent oxidative damage of paraquat.