title: Influence of the leaf extract of Mentha arvensis Linn. (mint) on the survival of mice exposed to different doses of gamma radiation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The aim of the present study was to evaluate the radioprotective effect of Mentha arvensis (mint) on the survival of mice exposed to various doses of whole-body gamma radiation.
  
  
  METHODS
  The radioprotective effect of various doses (0, 2.5, 5, 10, 20, 40 and 80 mg/kg body weight) of chloroform extract of mint (Mentha arvensis Linn.) was studied in mice exposed to 10 Gy gamma radiation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The 10 mg/kg of mint extract was found to afford best protection as evidenced by the highest number of survivors in this group at 30 days post-irradiation, and further experiments were carried out using this dose of mint extract. The mice treated with 10 mg/kg body weight mint extract or oil were exposed to 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 Gy of gamma radiation and observed for the induction of radiation-sickness and mortality up to 30 days post-irradiation. The mint extract pretreatment was found to reduce the severity of symptoms of radiation sickness and mortality at all exposure doses and a significant increase in the animal survival was observed when compared with the oil + irradiation group. All of the animals that were treated with 10 mg/kg mint extract and then exposed to 7 Gy irradiation were protected against the radiation-induced mortality when compared with the concurrent oil + irradiation group, in which 20% animals died by 30 days post-irradiation. The mint extract treatment protected the mice against the gastrointestinal death as well as bone marrow deaths. The DRF was found to be 1.2. The drug was non-toxic up to a dose of 1,000 mg/kg body weight, the highest drug dose that could be tested for acute toxicity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  From our study it is clear that mint extract provides protection against the radiation-induced sickness and mortality and the optimum protective dose of 10 mg/kg is safe from the point of drug-induced toxicity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiobiology, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, India. gc.jagetia@kmc.manipal.edu
authors.forename: Ganesh Chandra
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Jagetia
authors.forename: Manjeshwar Shrinath
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Baliga
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004307:Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; D008297:Male; D027541:Mentha; D051379:Mice; D008517:Phytotherapy; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018515:Plant Leaves; D011833:Radiation Injuries, Experimental / Q000401:mortality / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011837:Radiation-Protective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D016019:Survival Analysis
chemical_list: D010936:Plant Extracts; D011837:Radiation-Protective Agents