Abstract

Background Despite its vast spectrum of clinical usage, cyclophosphamide (CP) exerts many adverse impacts, including hepatotoxicity. Antioxidant properties of ghrelin might protect the liver from CP-induced toxicity. The current study aimed to assess the protective impacts of ghrelin on CP-induced liver toxicity. Methods Forty male mice were randomly divided into four groups (n=10) Group 1 as control received no intervention,group 2 received cyclophosphamide (CP) (100 mg/kg, i.p.) for five weeks and once a week. Group 3 received CP+ghrelin (CP+G), (80 μg/kg daily, i.p.) for five weeks. Group 4 received ghrelin with above-mentioned dose. At the end of the experiment, the mice were sacrificed to remove liver tissuesfor histological and biochemical examination. Results Malondialdehyde (MDA) level increased after CP treatment but ghrelin administration significantly decreased the level of MDA (P<0.05). Measurement of the total antioxidant capacity (TAC) noted a significant decrease in the CP group against the control group (P<0.05). Ghrelin treatment in the CP+G group considerably increased the TAC activity when compared to the CP group (P<0.05). Histological examinations also confirmed the hepatocyte necrosis, local bleeding and inflammation, vacuolation, and sinusoidal dilation in the CP group, ghrelin administration reduced the destructive effects of CP on the liver significantly (P<0.05). Conclusion Our results reveal the hepatoprotective effect of ghrelin against CP. Therefore, ghrelin might be useful in protecting the body against the adverse impacts of injuries induced by chemotherapeutic drugs. © 2021 Cambridge University Press. All rights reserved.