The effect of date palm seed extract as a new potential radioprotector in gamma-irradiated mice

Abstract

Objective: Date palm seed extract (DPSE) has various compounds revealing antioxidant features. This study aimed to evaluate the radioprotective effect of DPSE in total body gamma irradiation. Materials and Methods: At first, chemical characteristics of DPSE were analyzed by ultraviolet, visible and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Then, the toxicity of DPSE was assessed. For this purpose, 60 mice were divided into five groups, and each of the groups were injected by the doses of 100, 200, 300, 400, and 500 mg/kg, respectively. At the termination of the experiment, mortality rate and weight loss of all mice were evaluated over a period of 30 days. Finally, the radioprotective effect of DPSE was evaluated by dividing 36 mice into three groups: control, test, and placebo and then were irradiated by Cobalt-60. Results: According to the findings, there was no mortality due to DPSE. Furthermore, for the maximum dose of 500 mg/kg, the number of mice surviving at the termination of the experiment with and without injection of DPSE was reported as 83% and 41%, respectively. In addition, a significant difference was obtained between radiated mice with and without DPSE injection (P = 0.035). Conclusion: The findings showed that DPSE injected into mice before irradiation has no toxicity and could protect mice from lethal effects of total body irradiation. The use of DPSE as a new radioprotector agent in the human needs further studies, particularly clinical trials.