Cisplatin is one of the most active
cytotoxic agents in the treatment of
cancer, but has serious side effects, inducing nephrotoxicity and
chromosome aberrations. In this study we evaluated the role of the
carotenoid bixin on
cisplatin-induced oxidative stress in Wistar rats through three markers of oxidative damage:
chromosome aberrations,
glutathione depletion and lipid peroxidation. The animals were divided into six treatment groups with six rats in each (n= 6). The dose of
cisplatin (5.0 mg kg(-1)body wt.) was injected i.p. and
bixin (2.5 or 5.0 mg kg(-1)body wt.) was given by gavage at 48, 24 h and 10 min before the
cisplatin injection. The treatment with the highest dose of
bixin resulted in a statistically significant reduction, by about 33%, in
cisplatin-induced abnormal metaphases (P< 0.05). A single dose of
cisplatin enhanced the formation of
lipid peroxides in 29% and resulted in a 29% depletion in renal
glutathione 24 h after
cisplatin administration (P< 0.05). The pretreatment with
bixin reduced the total number of
chromosome aberrations, inhibited the increase in lipid peroxidation, and inhibited renal
glutathione depletion induced by
cisplatin. Since the pretreatment with
bixin alone was safe, under the present experimental conditions, the results suggest that
bixin may have future clinical application after further studies.