Preventive effect of selenium pretreatment against cisplatin-induced oral mucositis in rats

Objective. The aim of the present study was to investigate the protective role of selenium against cisplatin-induced oral mucositis in rats. Methods. Healthy wistar albino rats (n=21) were randomly divided into three groups: Cisplatin (Cis), cisplatin and selenium (Cis+Se) and control (C). Cisplatin was administered for 3 days to Cis and Cis+Se groups. Cis+Se group received selenium 5 days before cisplatin injection and continued for 11 consecutive days. Malondialdehyde (MDA) levels of the rats were determined before and at the end of experimental protocol. The tongues of rats were harvested for immunuhistochemical examinations. Results. In biochemichal analysis, MDA levels significantly increased in the Cis group (p=0.018). On the contrary, there was no significant difference between pretreatment and posttreatment MDA levels in Cis+Se group (p=0.128). In the immunohistochemical examinations of lingual tissues stained with anti-caspase-3, when the Cis and Cis+Se groups were compared, there were significantly more immunopositivity in the Cis group and significantly less immunopositivity in the Cis+Se group (p<0.05). Conclusions. Selenium might have played a protective role against cisplatin-induced oral mucositis in rats. Further studies are necessary before its clinical use in patients.