Evaluation of the Effect of Immunocal on Radiation-Induced Mucositis in Wistar Rats.

Abstract

Mucositis is a common complication of head and neck radiotherapy. The alleviation of a severe form of this complication is important as it might lead to treatment interruptions which may impact local tumour control. Immunocal, a natural food protein concentrate helps in maintaining glutathione concentration required for building a strong immune system. This study was designed to evaluate the effect of Immunocal on radiation-induced mucositis in buccal and ileal tissues of Wistar rats.

Forty-five Wistar rats divided into five groups were used for this study. Group A served as normal control, Group B did not receive immunocal, Group C and D were treated with Immunocal (oral, 300 mg/kg body weight) from day 1 to 14 and from day 8 to14 respectively while Group E received Immunocal (oral, 300 mg/kg body weight) for 3 days post-irradiation. However, Groups B, C, D and E had a single dose of 4 Gy gamma irradiation at 100.87cGy per minute on day 15. All rats were sacrificed on the third-day post-irradiation, while the buccal mucosa and ileal tissues were harvested for histomorphological assessment.

Comparison of the histological features of harvested buccal and ileal mucosa showed no significant difference in the modified radiation injury scores of the groups which had pre and post irradiation Immunocal supplement compared to the group that had only the irradiation. Gross histomorphology showed significant alteration in the histology of the mucosal epithelium with an early attempt at repair evident in post-irradiation Immunocal-supplemented group. There was a significant reduction (p < 0.05) in the weight of all experimental groups on the third day post-irradiation. These findings suggest that post-irradiation supplementation might aid epithelial mucosal healing.