Research Article
Ali Sultan Al-Refai, Othman
Abstract
Background and objectives: 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) is a commonly used drug for the treatment of malignant cancers. The control of oral mucositis result from 5-FU use is becoming increasingly more important, and effective intervention is considered a high priority in cancer patient care. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of chamomile extract on the pathogenesis of 5-FU induced tongue mucositis in Albino rat.Materials and methods: In current study forty female Albino rats, weighing 220-280 g were used. 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 animals were sacrificed on day 8 and 12 (five animals each). In each experiment, the middle third of the tongue was removed for histopathological and immunohistochemical analysis using Ki-67 and Bcl-2 immunolabeling.Results: Chamomile can protect the tongue from fluorouracil-induced cytotoxicity and attenuate or decrease the associated injury. The chamomile in 5-FU+chamomile group causes significant increase in Ki-67 and Bcl-2 immunoexpression in comparison with 5-FU+water group at day eight. But longer duration of taking chamomile can cause cytotoxic and damaging effect to the tongue mucosa.Conclusion: Chamomile can protect the tongue mucosa 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.