Mitigation of radiation induced gastrointestinal system injury using resveratrol or alpha-lipoic acid: A pilot histopathological study

AIM: In this study, we aimed to determine possible mitigation of radiation-induced toxicities in the duodenum, jejunum and colon using post-exposure treatment with resveratrol and alpha-lipoic acid. BACKGROUND: After the bone marrow, gastrointestinal system toxicity is the second critical cause of death following whole body exposure to radiation. Its side effects are responsible for reducing the quality of life of patients who had undergone radiotherapy. Resveratrol has an antioxidant effect and stimulates DNA damage responses (DDRs). Alpha-lipoic acid neutralizes free radicals via recycling of ascorbic acid and alpha-tocopherol. OBJECTIVE: This study is a pilot investigation of mitigation of enteritis using resveratrol and alpha-lipoic acid following histopathological study. METHOD: 60 male mice were randomly assigned to six groups; control, resveratrol treatment, alpha-lipoic acid treatment, whole body irradiation, irradiation plus resveratrol, and irradiation plus alpha-lipoic acid. The mice were irradiated with a single dose of 7 Gy from a cobalt-60 gamma ray source. Treatment with resveratrol or alpha-lipoic acid started 24 h after irradiation and continued for 4 weeks. All mice were sacrificed after 30 days for histopathological evaluation of radiation-induced toxicities in the duodenum, jejunum and colon. RESULTS: Exposure to radiation caused mild to severe damages to vessels, goblet cells and villous. It also led to significant infiltration of macrophages and leukocytes, especially in the colon. Both resveratrol and alpha-lipoic acid were able to mitigate morphological changes. However, they could not mitigate vascular injury. CONCLUSION: Resveratrol and alpha-lipoic acid could mitigate radiation-induced injuries in small and large intestine. Comparison between these agents showed that resveratrol may be a more effective mitigator compared to alpha-lipoic acid.