Ameliorative effects of curcumin and caffeic acid against short term exposure of waterpipe tobacco smoking on lung, heart and kidney in mice

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate the chemopreventive activity of two antioxidants (curcumin [CUM] and caffeic acid [CAF]), focusing on how these antioxidants could reduce cytotoxicity induced by short term secondhand exposure of waterpipe tobacco smoking. Forty-eight adult male BALB/c albino mice were equally divided into four groups. Antioxidants were delivered intraperitoneally, and the exposure to waterpipe smoking (WPS) was performed using a smoking machine. This experiment lasts for 14 consecutive days. Serum were collected from mice before dissection to quantify the activity of some liver enzymes, kidney function tests and proinflammatory cytokines. Lung, heart, and kidney were isolated and processed for light microscopy technique. Parallel treatment of CUM or CAF along with exposure to WPS showed less inflammation, less vacuolized, and more inflated alveoli, less deteriorations in cortex part of kidney, and less disintegration of cardiac myofibers in comparison to waterpipe only. Besides, CUM and CAF significantly reduced the activity of aspartate aminotransferase and proinflammatory cytokines. CUM and CAF were found to have anti-inflammatory and ameliorative effects against the cytotoxicity induced by exposure to waterpipe tobacco smoking, and CUM showed better chemopreventive activity than CAF.

Keywords: Antioxidants; Biochemical parameters; Histopathology; Hookah; Proinflammatory cytokines.

Fig. 1

The main components of this study (WPS, CUM, and CAF); (A) shows a typical waterpipe with a brief illustration of its parts. Chemical structure of CUM (B) and CAF (C) with three-dimensional conformer represented in ball and stick model. CAF, caffeic acid; CUM, curcumin; WPS, waterpipe smoking. Adapted from Bhatnagar et al. Circulation 2019;139:e917-36, according to the Creative Commons license PubChem [1].

Fig. 2

List of toxicant contents generated from tobacco-based waterpipe smoking, according to Shihadeh et al. [5]. Adapted from Shihadeh et al. Tob Control 2015;24(Suppl 1):i22-30 [5].

Fig. 3

Bar charts for illustration level of different liver function, kidney function, and proinflammatory cytokines in serum samples of albino mice; (A) for the concentration of ALT; (B) for the concentration of AST; (C) for the concentration of LDH; (D) for quantifying the level of creatinine; (E) for the level of BUN; (F) shows the level for IL-1β; (G) shows the level for IL-6, and (H) shows the level for TNF-α. Asterisks (*, **, ***) indicates for (P<0.05, P<0.01, P<0.001) respectively, and (NS) indicates for no significant result when P≥0.05. Significance against the control group written in blue color, whereas against WPS group written in red. WPS, WPS+CUM, and WPS+CAF respectively. ALT, alanine aminotransferase; AST, aspartate aminotransferase; BUN, blood urea nitrogen; CAF, caffeic acid; CUM, curcumin; IL-1β, interleukin-1 beta; IL-6, interleukin-6; LDH, lactate dehydrogenase; NS, not significant; TNF-α, tumor necrosis factor-alpha; WPS, waterpipe smoking.

Fig. 4

Thin sections of 5 µm for the lung of different experimental groups in this study; (A) represents the control group; (B) for WPS; (C) for CUM+WPS; (D) for CAF+WPS. CAF, caffeic acid; CUM, curcumin; WPS, waterpipe smoking. Sections were stained with H&E, magnification, ×400. Scale bars=50 µm, n=13 (A–D).

Fig. 5

Thin sections of 5 µm for the heart of different experimental groups in this study; (A) represents the control group; (B) for WPS; (C) for CUM+WPS; (D) for CAF+WPS. CAF, caffeic acid; CUM, curcumin; WPS, waterpipe smoking. Sections were stained with H&E, magnification, ×400. Scale bars=50 µm, n=13 (A–D).

Fig. 6

Thin sections of 5 µm for the kidney of different experimental groups in this study; (A) represents the control group; (B) for WPS; (C) for CUM+ WPS; (D) for CAF+WPS. CAF, caffeic acid; CUM, curcumin; WPS, waterpipe smoking. Sections were stained with H&E, magnification, ×400. Scale bars= 50 µm, n=13 (A–D).