Prophylactic effects of Aloe vera against X-ray irradiation–induced structural alterations and DNA damage in mice

Abstract

Radiation exposures, whether planned or unexpected, can have harmful consequences on biological systems. To avoid these radiotoxic consequences, a variety of natural and synthetic radioprotectors are given prior to radiation exposure. The present study aimed to investigate the radioprotective potential of Aloe vera gel extract against damage induced by whole-body X-ray exposure in male balb/c mice. The animals were divided into four groups: Control, Aloe vera (50 mg/kg body weight orally on alternate days for 30 days), X-ray (cumulative dose of 2 Gy) (i.e., 0.258 Gy twice a day for four consecutive days) in the last week of the experimental protocol, and Aloe vera + X-ray. Following irradiation, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis showed structural changes in molecules by altering the ratios of CH₃/lipid, CH₂/lipid, lipid/protein, Amide I/II, and nucleic acid in liver and testes. X-ray exposure led to an increase in DNA strand breaks in the liver, spleen, kidney, and testes of mice, as indicated by comet assay. Bcl-2 levels were shown to be up-regulated in the kidney and testes following irradiation. In liver, kidney, and spleen, caspase 3 was also found to be up-regulated. Furthermore, after being exposed to X-rays, the expression of caspase 9 and bax was up-regulated in all the tissues examined. Administration of Aloe vera to the X-ray-exposed group exhibited decline in DNA strand breaks in all tissues investigated. Moreover, protein expressions of these genes were found to be down-regulated in the Aloe vera + X-ray-exposed group. These observations illustrate the potential of Aloe vera in providing radioprotection for rodents, possibly DNA protection, through its anti-apoptotic properties.