Protection of Radiation induced Somatic Damage by the Reduction of Oxidative Stress at Critical Organs of Rat with Naringenin Administration

Free radicals originate due to the radiolysis of cytoplasmic water with low "Linear Energy Transfer" (LET) radiations. Naringenin (Ng) is a natural antioxidative compound found in citrus fruits. This study revealed that Naringenin (Ng) reduced the radiation damage of critical organs by scavenging oxidative free radicals. In the study, Ng was orally administrated to rats daily for 7 consecutive days, prior to whole body exposure to gamma-rays. The scavenging efficacy was evaluated biochemically by measuring the concentration of cytotoxic byproducts and the activity of enzymes relevant to oxidative free radicals, after extracting the organs from the exposed rat. We observed increased levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration, and decrease in the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) in the exposed control group. However, pretreatment with Ng significantly reduced the MDA concentration, and increased the activities of SOD and CAT, as compared to the control group, due to the free radical scavenging by Ng. The results indicate that Ng administration prior to irradiation could protect critical organs from radiation damage.