Effects of alpha-tocopherol on acute pancreatitis in rats

BACKGROUND: Acute pancreatitis is a disease with high morbidity and mortality, despite all the advances in technology. The overall mortality rate of acute pancreatitis is 10%, whereas the mortality rate in infected necrotizing pancreatitis is approximately 35%. In this study, we aimed to establish acute pancreatitis in rats in order to try out the alpha-tocopherol treatment protocol and to reveal the results biochemically and histopathologically.
METHODS: Twenty-four male male Sprague–Dawley rats weighing between 300 and 350 g were used in the study. In Group 1, 80 µg/kg of normal saline was subcutaneously injected into eight rats; in Group 2, 80 µg/kg of cerulein was subcutaneously injected into eight rats; and in Group 3, 80 µg/kg of cerulein was subcutaneously injected into eight rats. In addition, 30 mg/kg of alpha-tocopherol was intraperitoneally injected into eight rats.
RESULTS: The mean Schoenberg score, serum amylase, and lipase and Neutrophil Gelatinase-Associated Lipocalin (NGAL) levels were statistically significantly higher in Group 2 than in Group 1. The mean Schoenberg score and serum amylase and lipase levels were statistically significantly lower in Group 3 than in Group 2.
CONCLUSION: In this experimental study rat model of cerulein-induced acute pancreatitis, 30 mg/kg of alpha-tocopherol was injected intraperitoneally to examine its effect on pancreatitis. The improvement was observed in the histopathological examination of pancreatic tissues. We think that alpha-tocopherol may have a therapeutic effect on pancreatic tissue.

Sýçanlarda alfa tokoferolün akut pankreatit üzerine etkileri

AMAÇ: Akut pankreatit, teknolojideki tüm geliþmelere raðmen morbiditesi ve mortalitesi yüksek bir hastalýktýr. Akut pankreatitte mortalite oraný tüm hastalar için %10 iken, bu oran enfekte olmuþ nekrotizan pankreatitli hastalarda yaklaþýk olarak %35’tir. Biz, bu çalýþmada öncelikle sýçanlarda akut pankreatit oluþturmayý, alfa tokoferol tedavi protokolünü denemeyi ve sonuçlarý biyokimyasal ve histopatolojik olarak ortaya koymayý amaçladýk.
GEREÇ VE YÖNTEM: Çalýþmada 24 adet erkek sýçan kullanýldý. Grup 1: Kontrol grubu olarak sekiz sýçana birer saatlik arayla altý kez toplam 80 mikrogram/kg (cerulein ile eþ hacimli) serum fizyolojik subkutan enjekte edildi. Grup 2: Sekiz sýçana birer saat ara ile altý kez toplam 80 ug/kg cerulein subkutan enjekte edildi. Grup 3: Sekiz sýçana birer saat ara ile toplam 80 mikrogram/kg cerulein ve birer saat arayla iki kez 30 mg/kg alfa-tokoferol intraperitoneal enjekte edildi.
BULGULAR: Ortalama Schoenberg skoru, serum amilaz, lipaz ve NGAL seviyeleri Grup 2’de Grup 1’e göre istatistiksel olarak anlamlý derecede yüsekti. Ortalama Schoenberg skoru, serum amilaz ve lipaz seviyeleri Grup 3’de Grup 2’ye göre istatistiksel olarak anlamlý derecede düþüktü.
TARTIÞMA: Cerulein ile oluþturulan pankreatit modelinde pankreatitin üzerine olan etkisini incelemek amacýyla 30 mg/kg alfa-tokoferol intraperitoneal olarak uygulandý. Alfa-tokoferolün pankres dokusu üzerine tedavi edici etkisi olabileceðini düþünmekteyiz.