title: Radioprotective effects of dragon's blood and its extracts on radiation-induced myelosuppressive mice.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Dragon׳s blood, a traditional Chinese herb, has been used to "panacea of blood activating" and its major biological activity appears to be from phenolic compounds. In this study, our research aims to examine the effects of Dragon׳s blood (DB) and its extracts (DBE) on radiation-induced myelosuppressive mice.
  
  
  METHODS
  Adult BALB/C mice were exposed to the whole body irradiation with 4 Gy (60)Co γ-rays. DB and DBE were respectively administered orally for 5 constitutive days prior to irradiation treatment. The radioprotective effects and relevant mechanisms of DB and DBE in radiation-induced bone marrow injury were investigated by ex vivo examination.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found that the administration of DB and DBE significantly increased the numbers of peripheral blood cells and colony forming unit of bone marrow-derived stem/progenitor cells. Interestingly, compared with the irradiation group, the administration of DB and DBE significantly decreased the levels of the inflammatory cytokines such as IL-6, TNF-α and IFN-γ and oxidative stress injury such as SOD, CAT, GSH, MDA in serum of mice. Furthermore, DBE markedly improved the morphology of bone marrow histopathology.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data suggest that DB and DBE effectively attenuate radiation-induced damage in bone marrow, which is likely associated with the anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory properties of DB and DBE.
authors.affiliation: School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, PR China.
authors.forename: Yuanyuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ran
authors.affiliation: School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, PR China.
authors.forename: Ran
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, PR China.
authors.forename: Murtaza
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hasan
authors.affiliation: School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, PR China.
authors.forename: Qiutian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.affiliation: School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, PR China.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, PR China.
authors.forename: Shuangquan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shan
authors.affiliation: School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, PR China. Electronic address: deng@bit.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Yulin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.affiliation: School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, PR China. Electronic address: hqing@bit.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Qing
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology / Q000528:radiation effects*; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000528:radiation effects; D005720:Gamma Rays; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D015394:Molecular Structure; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011837:Radiation-Protective Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; D000975:Antioxidants; D010936:Plant Extracts; D011837:Radiation-Protective Agents; C525191:dragon's blood
keywords: Bone marrow; Dragon׳s blood; Inflammatory cytokine; Oxidative stress; Radiation