Hesperetin may alleviate the development of doxorubicin-induced pulmonary toxicity by decreasing oxidative stress and apoptosis in male rats

[Display omitted] •DOX administration caused disruption of lung histological structure.•Increased mRNA expressions of PARP-1, Casp3, Cytc after DOX administration played an active role in pulmonary cell apoptosis.•DOX may result in lung injury via oxidative stress and apoptosis.•Hesperetin may minimize oxidative stress and apoptosis, thus reducing pulmonary toxicity. Doxorubicin (DOX) is one of the most widely used chemotherapeutic agents. However, it causes pulmonary toxicity which decreases its clinical use in human cancer therapy. The present study was undertaken to obtain an insight into the potential protective effect of hesperetin (HES) against doxorubicin-induced pulmonary toxicity in rats. The animals were divided into 4 groups with 7 rats per group. The experimental treatments were as follows: Control, DOX, DOX + HES, and HES groups. DOX was administered at the dosage of 15 mg/kg i.p for a single dose. HES was administered at the dosage of 50 mg/kg by oral gavage every other day. After 28 days, biochemical parameters, oxidative stress status, histopathological changes, apoptosis-related genes and apoptotic index (AI) were examined of lung tissue. Histopathological changes, Poly [ADP-ribose] polymerase 1 (PARP-1), Caspase-3 (Casp3), Cytochrome c (Cytc), apoptosis-related genes, and AI significantly increased in the DOX group relative to the control group. Malondialdehyde (MDA) significantly increased, while superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) decreased in the DOX group relative to the control group. However, histopathological findings, MDA, AI, and PAPR1, Casp3 protein expression, mRNA expression of Cytc significantly decreased, while SOD, GPx increased in the DOX + HES group relative to the DOX group. These results attested HES might be a potential agent for the treatment of DOX-induced pulmonary toxicity.