الفهرس 
Radiotherapy and immune systemOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Ionizing radiation finds applications in many fields of the medical
sciences and enhances the efficacy of diagnostic and therapeutic uses.
Radiotherapy has been used as a treatment modality for cancer patients
during their course of illness. Irradiation has associated side effects as it
induces damage to normal tissue, resulting in acute and chronic toxicities
or severe organ dysfunction. Hence, the need arises to protect human
beings from the effects of radiation, even in a planned or unplanned
accidental exposure.
The recent research focuses on the use of natural products derived
from plants in offering protection against the harmful effects of radiation.
Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are the cause of certain diseases, such as
cancer tumors, cardiovascular diseases, and liver dysfunction. Ionizing
radiation passing through living tissues generates free radicals that can
induce DNA damage. The damaging effects of ionizing radiation on DNA
lead to cell death and are associated with an increased risk of cancer.
Even though the clinical application of ionizing radiation in
radiotherapy and other medical areas is widely accepted and has accrued
colossal success, the damage to the healthy surrounding tissues has limited
its usage. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop drugs from plants and
herbs that are cost-effective, readily available, and capable of scavenging
free radicals, thus protecting normal cells during radiotherapy and reducing
radiation’s harmful effect in an emergency radiation accident. This is the
motivation for this work.
In ancient times, the use of medicinal plants was a major source for
treating human diseases. Medemia argun is one of the rare types of palm
that belongs to the family Arecaceae, which grows in northern Sudan and southern Egypt (Nubian Desert oases). The Medemia argun (MA) dried
dates were found in the famed tomb of Tutankhamun in ancient Egypt.
Until now, the importance of the presence of dried palm fruits in the tombs
of the ancient Egyptians was still ambiguous.
The fruits of MA are sweet, and the flesh is thin and edible. Medemia
argun are very important desert plants, not only as natural sources of
nutrients for human and animal nutrition but also as potential sources of
antioxidant agents such as polyphenolics, including flavonoids and
phenolics, in addition to other classes of secondary metabolites such as
alkaloids, protoanthocyanidins (condensed tannins), and saponins.
In the desert environment of Egypt, MA fruits are used and are an
important source of good nutrition because they contain many important
nutrients such as polyphenolic compounds (radical scavenging properties),
B-complex vitamins, fibers, amino acids, essential minerals (K, Na, Ca,
and Mg), carbohydrates, glucose, and fatty acids.
The present study has been carried out in order to access the radioprotective
efficiency role and the antioxidant effect of natural biochemical
ingredients present in Medemia Argun against oxidative stress and tissue
injury in rats caused by gamma radiation.
Experimental Design
Plant material
In joint cooperation with researchers in the botanical garden, fresh and
healthy fruits of Medemia argun were obtained from the Aswan University
desert garden in October 2021, Faculty of Science, Botany Department
Herbarium, Aswan University, Egypt.
Metabolomic profiling and antioxidant properties of MA ethanolic seed
extract
Polyphenol fractions (flavonoids and phenolics), saponins, proteins,
carbohydrate, proanthocyanidin, antioxidant capacity ABTS˙⁺[2,2-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)], [DPPH˙(2,2-diphenyl-1-
picrylhydrazyl), radical scavenging activity, and ferric-reducing antioxidant
power (FRAP)], fatty acids, and mineral contents in MA were investigated.
Experimental design and animal treatment
Sixty adult male (13-week-old) Wistar albino rats (n=15X4) weighing
about 180–200 g were brought from the Research Institute of
Ophthalmology (animal house), Egypt.
Rats were randomly split into four groups:
group I: Represents control rats that received normal food and water daily
for six weeks.
group II. Rats subjected to gamma radiation (6 Gy), a single dose of
whole body, after one week of the experiment.
group III. Rats were injected intraperitoneally with 200 mg/kg b.wt. of
MA ethanolic seed extract twice/week for six weeks.
group IV. Rats subjected to gamma radiation (6 Gy), a single dose of
whole body after one week of the experiment, then injected
intraperitoneally with MA ethanolic seed’s extract (200 mg/kg b.wt.)
twice/week for six weeks. Each group contains 15 rats.
Blood and tissue preparation
Six weeks after the experiment was completed, rats were lightly
anesthetized and blood was collected from the internal jugular vein in
special tubes. Separated clear sera were kept at -20°C for further
biochemical analysis. Then, under deep anaesthesia all rats were sacrificed.
Immediately, carefully remove the liver, kidney, and testis from each rat.
Tissue samples were divided into two parts for molecular, biochemical, and
histopathological examination.