6-Shogaol ameliorates injury to the intestinal mucosa and increases survival after high-dose abdominal irradiation

Abstract Gastrointestinal mucosal damage is a catastrophic effect of abdominal or pelvic radiation used in cancer therapy or pretreatment for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. 6-Shogaol is the constituent of ginger biophenolic, possesses both anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. We therefore investigated 6-shogaol’s candidacy as a protector against radiation-induced intestinal injury. Herein, we found that pretreatment with 6-shogaol improved animal survival and intestinal function following irradiation injury. Furthermore, the potential radioprotective role of 6-shogaol may be partially attributed to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, which alleviated radiation toxicity to the gastrointestinal tract. Additionally, we observed that 6-shogaol might reduce bacterial translocation and endotoxin levels following abdominal irradiation, and thereby protect against radiation-induced intestinal injury. Our results show a potential role for 6-shogaol as a protective agent to obviate the treatment-limiting intestinal side-effects and thereby may be useful in radiotherapy of patients.