Preventive Action of Honey on Methotrexate Induced Intestinal Mucositis in Albino Rats (Immunohistochemical Study)

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Gastrointestinal mucositis is a severe and debilitating side effect of chemotherapy. Methotrexate (MTX) represents one of the most potent classical anti-tumor drugs. The aim of this study was to determine the preventive effects of honey on the intestinal mucositis caused by methotrexate in rats. Materials and Methods: In current study forty females Albino rats, weighing 250-300g were used in the study. For the induction of mucositis, 60 mg/kg of MTX was administered intraperitoneally to each animal in the study group on day 4. The control animals were intraperitoneally injected by normal saline in the same manner and dose like MTX. At the beginning of the experiment, the rats in each group were randomly divided into two groups: Distilled water treated group and honey treated group (10 animals each). A volume of distilled water equal to honey was given by intragastric gavage tube, while the other group was gavaged with honey at a dose of (2.5g/kg) two times daily. The body weight for each rat was measured and then the animals were sacrificed on day 8. In each experiment, one centimeter of prox¬imal jejunum was removed for histopathological, intestinal morphometry, and immunohistochemical analysis using Ki-67 and Bcl-2 immunolabeling. Results: The MTX / honey treated group showed significantly (p 0.05) were seen in the Ki-67 and Bcl-2 immune expression in comparison with the MTX/water treated group. Conclusion: Honey at a dose of 2.5g/kg two times daily, produced a partial protection against methotrexate induced mucositis in rat by decreasing the histopathological scores.