Jornal de Imunologia Clínica e Celular
Acesso livre
ISSN: 2155-9899
ISSN: 2155-9899
Ali Sultan Al-Refai
Background and objectives: 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) is a commonly used drug for the treatment of malignant cancers. Approximately 80% of patients undergoing 5-FU treatment suffer from gastrointestinal mucositis. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of chamomile extract on the pathogenesis of 5-FU induced intestinal mucositis in Albino rat.
Materials and methods: In current study forty females Albino rats, weighing 220-280 g were used in the study. For the induction of mucositis, 60 mg/kg of 5-FU was administered intraperitoneally to each animal in the study group on day 0, and 40 mg/kg was administered on day 2. The control animals were intraperitoneally injected by normal saline in the same manner and dose like 5-FU on day 0 and 2. Then the rats in each group were randomly divided into two groups: Distilled water treated group and chamomile extract treated group (10 animals each).
A volume of distilled water equal to chamomile extract was given by intragastric gavage tube, while the other group was gavaged with chamomile extract at a dose of (100 mg/ kg) two times daily. The treatment with distilled water or the chamomile extract was initiated on day 5 and the experiment continues for twelve days. The body weight for each rat was measured and then the animals were sacrificed on day 8 and 12 (five animals each). In each experiment, one centimeter of proximal jejunum was removed for histopathological, intestinal morphometry, and immunohistochemical analysis using Ki-67 and Bcl-2 immunolabeling.
Results: Chamomile can protect the jejunum from fluorouracil-induced cytotoxicity and attenuate or decrease the associated injury. The chamomile in 5-FU/chamomile group causes significant increase in villi length, crypt depth, number of goblet cells, and Ki-67 and Bcl-2 immunexpression in comparison with 5-FU/water group at day 8. But longer duration of taking chamomile can cause cytotoxic and damaging effect to the jejunum.
Conclusion: Chamomile can protect the jejunum from fluorouracil-induced mucositis, it attenuate the associated injury if it taken for short duration, but the reverse was occurred if it taken for longer period.