The efficacy of hesperidin for treatment of acute otitis media

Abstract

ObjectivesIn this experimental study, the effect of hesperidin on the treatment of acute otitis media (AOM) was investigated in an AOM-induced rat model. MethodsIn total, 35 rats were randomly divided into the following five groups (n=7): group 1 (control), group 2 (AOM with no treatment), group 3 (AOM+antibiotic), group 4 (AOM+hesperidin), and group 5 (AOM+hesperidin+antibiotic). On day 14, group 3,4 and 5 rats were given antibiotic and hesperidin via gavages, respectively. Histopathological and immunological analyses were performed and the results analyzed. ResultsSerum levels of TNF-α, IL-4, IL-6 and IL-1β were significantly decreased in the hesperidin- and antibiotic-treated groups compared to the AOM group. The AOM+antibiotic and AOM+hesperidin groups demonstrated reduced histological damage compared to the AOM group. Between the AOM+antibiotic and AOM+hesperidin groups, significant differences in tympanic membrane thickness(ThicTM), inflammation(Inf), and sclerosis(Sc) values were observed. However, no difference in epithelial damage(DamEpith), was seen between the two groups. There was a significant difference in the AOM+antibiotic and AOM+antibiotic+hesperidin groups compared to AOM group (P<0.001). ConclusionsIn this study, we observed that both antibiotic and hesperidin treatment reduced AOM symptoms in an AOM-induced rat model. The values in AOM+antibiotic+hesperidin group were markedly lower than those of the other groups. From our results, we propose that hesperidin, in combination with antibiotics, may provide a successful alternative treatment for AOM compared with antibiotics used alone.