Potential protective role of Melilotus officinalis extract against Cisplatin –induced cardiac and pulmonary toxicities in rats

Cisplatin (Cis) is a chemotherapeutic drug that is currently used to treat a variety of cancers.However, intrinsic cardiac and pulmonary toxicities, as well as other adverse effects, limit its practical application. Because Melilotus officinalis (MO) extract contains anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory capabilities, the current study was conducted to investigate its protective effect on the heart and lung damage induced from administration of Cisplatin.Thirty rats were randomly divided into six groups (A,B,C,D,E,F) of 5 rats each; Group A was used as negative control and received only water; Group B was intraperitoneally (i.p) injected 5mg/kg of Cis once every 2 days for a total of 8 days (+ve Control); Groups C and D were given 100 and 200 mg of MOvia oral administration, respectively, for 7 weeks and then exposed to i.p administration of 5mg/kg b.wt cisplatin on the 7^st week; Groups E and F received 5 mg/kg b.wt of cisplatin intraperitoneally and then orally received100 and 200 mg of MOfor 7 weeks. The results indicated that cisplatin administration by rats of group B resulted in elevated levels of their LDH, CK, MDA, and TNF-and significant decreases in SOD levels in the heart tissues, as well as a significant decrease in lung GSH and Caspase-3 activity compared with control group (A). In groups C and D rats, pretreated with MO extract showed improvement in their investigated biochemical parameters. MO also showed improvements in histological structures of heart and lung damadge in rats of groups (C & D). Groups (F & D) showed no significant change in the examined biochemical parameters as well as histotlogical structure of damage heart and lungs compared with the positive control group (B). The present findings suggested that MO extract has a protective effect against cisplatin-induced cardiac and pulmonary damage.