{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,6]],"date-time":"2026-09-06T11:04:48Z","timestamp":1788692688880,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":51,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"11","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,27]],"date-time":"2021-05-27T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1622073600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Molecules"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Benzopyrene [B(a)P] is a well-recognized environmental carcinogen, which promotes oxidative stress, inflammation, and other metabolic complications. In the current study, the therapeutic effects of thymoquinone (TQ) against B(a)P-induced lung injury in experimental rats were examined. B(a)P used at 50 mg\/kg b.w. induced lung injury that was investigated via the evaluation of lipid profile, inflammatory markers, nitric oxide (NO), and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels. B(a)P also led to a decrease in superoxide dismutase (SOD) (34.3 vs. 58.5 U\/mg protein), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) (42.4 vs. 72.8 U\/mg protein), catalase (CAT) (21.2 vs. 30.5 U\/mg protein), and total antioxidant capacity compared to normal animals. Treatment with TQ, used at 50 mg\/kg b.w., led to a significant reduction in triglycerides (TG) (196.2 vs. 233.7 mg\/dL), total cholesterol (TC) (107.2 vs. 129.3 mg\/dL), and inflammatory markers and increased the antioxidant enzyme level in comparison with the group that was administered B(a)P only (p &lt; 0.05). B(a)P administration led to the thickening of lung epithelium, increased inflammatory cell infiltration, damaged lung tissue architecture, and led to accumulation of collagen fibres as studied through haematoxylin and eosin (H&amp;E), Sirius red, and Masson\u2019s trichrome staining. Moreover, the recognition of apoptotic nuclei and expression pattern of NF-\u03baB were evaluated through the TUNEL assay and immunohistochemistry, respectively. The histopathological changes were found to be considerably low in the TQ-treated animal group. The TUNEL-positive cells increased significantly in the B(a)P-induced group, whereas the TQ-treated group showed a decreased apoptosis rate. Significantly high cytoplasmic expression of NF-\u03baB in the B(a)P-induced group was seen, and this expression was prominently reduced in the TQ-treated group. Our results suggest that TQ can be used in the protection against benzopyrene-caused lung injury.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/molecules26113218","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,27]],"date-time":"2021-05-27T11:07:02Z","timestamp":1622113622000},"page":"3218","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":43,"title":["Protective Effects of Thymoquinone, an Active Compound of Nigella sativa, on Rats with Benzo(a)pyrene-Induced Lung Injury through Regulation of Oxidative Stress and Inflammation"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"26","author":[{"given":"Mohammad A.","family":"Alzohairy","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Laboratories, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Qassim University, Buraydah 51452, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6030-4493","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Amjad Ali","family":"Khan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Basic Health Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Qassim University, Buraydah 51452, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mohammed A.","family":"Alsahli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Laboratories, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Qassim University, Buraydah 51452, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5260-0265","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Saleh A.","family":"Almatroodi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Laboratories, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Qassim University, Buraydah 51452, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Arshad Husain","family":"Rahmani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Laboratories, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Qassim University, Buraydah 51452, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,27]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"S69","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1539-6924.2012.01768.x","article-title":"Chapter 6: Lung Cancer in Never Smokers: Epidemiology and Risk Prediction Models","volume":"32","author":"McCarthy","year":"2012","journal-title":"Risk Anal."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1186\/1476-069X-9-5","article-title":"Is the smokers exposure to environmental tobacco smoke negligible?","volume":"9","author":"Piccardo","year":"2010","journal-title":"Environ. 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