Investigating the Effects of Vitamin C and Inositol on Ovarian and Uterine Damage Caused by Cisplatin in Rats

Abstract

Background and purpose: Cisplatin is one of the widely used chemotherapeutics, that directly affects the ovaries and uterus leading to infertility. This study aimed to investigate the effects of inositol and vitamin C on cisplatin-induced damage to ovarian follicles and uterine histopathology. Materials and methods: Fifty-six adult Wistar female rats were divided into eight equal groups (N=7) including negative control (oral normal saline/intraperitoneal normal saline), positive control (normal saline/cisplatin), T1 (vitamin C/cisplatin), T2 (inositol/cisplatin), T3 (vitamin C and inositol/cisplatin), T4 (vitamin C/normal saline), T5 (inositol/normal saline), and T6 (vitamin C and inositol/normal saline). The vitamin C and inositol were administered orally for 21 days. Cisplatin was injected intraperitoneally on the 15th day (7 mg/kg). On the day 22, the animals were euthanized, the uterus and ovaries removed, then the number of ovarian follicles and the uterine histopathology were examined. Results: After cisplatin treatment, the number of healthy ovarian follicles (primordial and antral) significantly decreased (P<0.05) compared to the negative control group. However, all of the atretic follicles increased compared to the negative control (P<0.05). Treatment with vitamin C and inositol increased the number of healthy follicles, effectively reduced the number of atretic follicles, and improved the damage induced by cisplatin in the uterine tissue. Conclusion: Treatment with vitamin C and inositol has a protective effect on the ovaries and uterus against the toxicity caused by cisplatin.

Keywords

• vitamin c
• inositol
• cisplatin
• ovarian and uterine damage
• rat