title: Radioprotective effects of lycopene and curcumin during local irradiation of parotid glands in Sprague Dawley rats.
abstract: Radiotherapy effectively treats cancers of the head and neck. We investigated the possible protective effects of lycopene and curcumin on the parotid glands of 40 female Sprague Dawley rats during irradiation. The study followed European Union regulations 86/609/EEC, 2010/63/EU for animal experimentation. The animals were divided into 4 groups: those treated with curcumin and radiation, those treated with lycopene and radiation, those treated with dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO) and radiation, and those treated with radiation alone. All compounds were given intraperitoneally the day before irradiation. The total dose of radiation was 20Gy. Morphological and histopathological analyses showed less cell necrosis in the group treated with curcumin than in the other groups, but the difference was not significant. Analysis of structural damage to the parotid ducts and vacuolisation showed significant differences among all groups (p=0.023, p<0.01). Lycopene and curcumin given 24 hours before irradiation reduced the structural damage to the salivary glands. Further studies are needed to confirm these findings.
authors.affiliation: Oral Medicine University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain. Electronic address: majornet@um.es.
authors.forename: Pia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lopez-Jornet
authors.affiliation: Pathology, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gómez-García
authors.affiliation: Pathology, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: Nuria
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: García Carrillo
authors.affiliation: Oral Medicine University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: Ezkai
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Valle-Rodríguez
authors.affiliation: Animal Facility Alliance-Parc Científic de Barcelona, Baldiri Reixac, 4-6, Torre R, 4(a) planta, Barcelona, 08028, Spain.
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Xerafin
authors.affiliation: Pathology, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: Vicente
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Vicente-Ortega
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003474:Curcumin; D005260:Female; D009333:Neck; D010306:Parotid Gland / Q000528:radiation effects*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D018987:Salivary Ducts
chemical_list: D003474:Curcumin
keywords: Curcumin; Lycopene; Parotid; Radiation; Rats.