Sara Aghel
1, Mahdi Pouramir
2, Ali Akbar Moghadamnia
3, Dariush Moslemi
4, Tahere Molania
5, Leila Ghassemi
6, Mina Motallebnejad
7*1 Assistant Professor, Department of Oral Medicine, Faculty of Dentistry, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran
2 Professor, Department of Biochemistry, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran
3 Professor, Department of Pharmacology, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran
4 Assistant Professor, Department of Radiation Oncology, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran
5 Assistant Professor, Faculty of Dentistry, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran
6 General Dental Practitioner
7 Associate Professor, Cellular and Molecular Biology Research Center, Faculty of Dentistry, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran
Abstract
Background and aims. The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of propolis were studied. Since saliva containsantioxidants and radiotherapy of the head and neck mainly affects the saliva, salivary antioxidant defensive mechanism iscompromised with oxidative stress produced by radiation therapy. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigatethe effect of propolis on salivary total antioxidant capacity in irradiated rats. Materials and methods. The study was conducted on 28 rats, 7‒11 weeks of age (160±20 g), divided into four groups:saline with no radiation (S), saline and radiation (SR), propolis with no radiation (P) [400 mg/kg IP], propolis and radiation(PR) [400 mg/kg IP]. SP and PR were exposed to 15 Gy of gamma irradiation for 7 minutes and 39 seconds. The rats re-ceived intraperitoneal injections each day for 10 days, and their tongues and lips were daily examined for mucositis; salivasample were also taken three times on days 0, 6, and 10. Results. Mucositis incidence appeared to be delayed in the PR compared to the SR, and the severity was significantlyhigher in the SR compared to the PR. No significant alterations were observed in salivary antioxidant levels during the ex-periment, except the SR group in which a significant reduction was found. Conclusion. Propolis might reduce and delay radiation-induced mucositis in animal models; it might be able to prevent thereduction in salivary antioxidant levels in irradiated rats as well.