Saccharomyces boulardiiameliorates clarithromycin- and methotrexate-induced intestinal and hepatic injury in rats

• DOI: 10.1017/s000711451200517x
• Publication Date: 2013-01-02T11:53:07Z
• Authors: Deniz Güney Duman; Zarife Nigâr Özde...; Feriha Ercan; Mustafa Deniz; Güray Can; Berrak Çağlayan Y...
• Keywords: Diarrhea; Inflammation; Male; Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic; 0303 health sciences; Glutathione; Antioxidants; Anti-Bacterial Agents; 3. Good health; Intestinal Diseases; Oxidative Stress; 03 medical and health sciences; Methotrexate; Liver; Neutrophil Infiltration; Ileum; Clarithromycin; Malondialdehyde; Animals; Lipid Peroxidation; Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury; Gastrointestinal Transit; Peroxidase

Saccharomyces boulardiiis a probiotic used for the prevention of antibiotic-associated diarrhoea. We aimed to investigate whetherS. boulardiicould alter the effects of clarithromycin (CLA) and methotrexate (MTX) on oro-caecal intestinal transit and oxidative damage in rats. Rats were divided into two groups receiving a single dose of MTX (20 mg/kg) or CLA (20 mg/kg per d) for 1 week. Groups were treated with either saline orS. boulardii(500 mg/kg) twice per d throughout the experiment. The control group was administered only saline. Following decapitation, intestinal transit and inflammation markers of glutathione (GSH), malondialdehyde and myeloperoxidase were measured in intestinal and hepatic tissues. CLA and MTX increased intestinal transit, whileS. boulardiitreatment slowed down CLA-facilitated transit back to control level. Both MTX and CLA increased lipid peroxidation while depleting the antioxidant GSH content in the hepatic and ileal tissues. Conversely, lipid peroxidation was depressed and GSH levels were increased in the ileal and hepatic tissues ofS. boulardii-treated rats. Increased ileal neutrophil infiltration due to MTX and CLA treatments was also reduced byS. boulardiitreatment. Histological analysis supported thatS. boulardiiprotected intestinal tissues against the inflammatory effects of both agents. These findings suggest thatS. boulardiiameliorates intestinal injury and the accompanying hepatic inflammation by supporting the antioxidant state of the tissues and by inhibiting the recruitment of neutrophils. Moreover, a preventive effect on MTX-induced toxicity is a novel finding ofS. boulardii, proposing it as an adjunct to chemotherapy regimens.