Radioprotective potential of Costus afer against the radiation-induced hematological and histopathological damage in mice.

Purpose: This study investigated the possible radioprotective effect of Costus afer extract (CAE) on hematological and histopathological parameters of mice.

Materials and methods: Fifty-four male mice with mass between 37-43 g, 11-13 weeks old were used for this study. We divided the mice into six different groups containing nine animals, which were then further sub-divided into irradiated groups and un-irradiated groups. Animals received 250 mg/kg body weight extract of CAE by oral gavage for 6 days in addition to feeding and water ad libitum. Animals in the irradiated group were exposed to radiation at the Department of Radiotherapy and Oncology, Grey's Hospital using a linear accelerator. Blood samples were collected at 48-hour post-irradiation for the hematology test followed by histopathology examination of kidney and liver.

Results: Our findings revealed that 3 Gy and 6 Gy dose of X-ray radiation caused a significant reduction in the white blood cell, packed cell volume, hemoglobin, neutrophils, lymphocytes, eosinophils, and platelet counts compared with the control group. However, the administration of CAE before irradiation significantly increased the mentioned parameters. There was no increase in red blood cell and monocyte among treated groups compared with the control. Histopathological changes in the kidney and liver sections revealed that no visible lesion in the pretreated mice. Hepatocytes seem to be within normal histological limits.

Conclusions: This study concludes that CAE offered some protection against radiation-induced hematological alterations, but there was no significant improvement in the histopathological parameters. Thus, further studies are needed to validate its radioprotective effect on histopathological variables.