Histological Studies on Livers of Rats’ Mothers and Their Offspring Following Oxaliplatin Treatment, and the Possible Protective Role of Propolis

Abstract

Knowledge about the possibility of chemotherapy during pregnancy is increasing. Oxaliplatin, a third-generation of platinum drug, is the main agent for treatment of many cancers. It causes abnormal changes in the cells of the vital organs, especially those responsible for detoxification such as the liver. The present study focused on the evaluation of the possible alleviative role of propolis against the hepatotoxicity induced by oxaliplatin in the rats' mothers before and during the period of pregnancy, and their offspring. A total of 35 adult female albino Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into seven groups (n=5). Group "1" (the control group) received distilled water during the experimental period. Group "2" received a daily oral dose of propolis 200 mg/kg body weight (bw), group "3" received an intravenous dose of 3 mg/kg bw of oxaliplatin three times per week, and group "4" received oxaliplatin with propolis in a combination for 21 days before pregnancy. Similarly, groups 5-7 received the same treatment and doses as groups 2-4, respectively, during the period of pregnancy. The results of the current study demonstrated that the oxaliplatin treatment before and after pregnancy induced degeneration and fibrosis in the maternal and fetal liver tissues. Nevertheless, the results demonstrated that the combined administration of oxaliplatin with propolis alleviated the hepatotoxicity associated with oxaliplatin treatment either before or during pregnancy, indicating the promising potential role of propolis as anti-toxic of natural origin.