Bleomycin-Induced Fibrosis and the Effectiveness of Centella Asiatica as a Treatment.

Introduction: Plant treatment has been used for thousands of years and has been proven to treat acute and chronic diseases. The function of the traditional plant Centella asiatica is as an antimicrobial agent, anticancer, antioxidant, and therapeutic gene in healing wounds and inflammation. Lung fibrosis caused by bleomycin can develop into chronic lung disease, which ends in tissue death if not treated immediately. The purpose of this study is to predict and explain the impact of Centella asiatica extract on model rats exposed to bleomycin in their lungs as a treatment or anti-fibrinolysis.

Methods: This research is an analytical study with a randomized in-vivo experimental design divided into 3 groups of 5 male Wistar rats aged 10 weeks. Negative control group (K) with intratracheal induction of bleomycin alone. The positive group was given intratracheal bleomycin 4 mg/kg/BB on days 0 and 21 and added Centella asiatica induction at 400 mg (P1) on days 15 to 49. The other positive group was given intratracheal bleomycin 4 mg/kg/BB on days 0 and 21 and added Centella asiatica induction at 800 mg (P2) on days 15 to 49. Data were collected according to findings of lung histology analysis of rat samples.

Results: In the interalveolar septum group, there was a difference in Masson's Trichrome staining results in groups K and P1 with p<0.05 (p=0.036). However, there was no difference in histopathological staining results in groups K and P2 (p>0.05).

Conclusion: The induction of bleomycin 4 mg/kg/BB was proven to cause fibrosis in the lungs of rats, and Centella asiatica extract was used as a treatment. Therefore, further research regarding antifibrotic drugs is hoped to reduce fibrotic areas significantly.