Effects of zinc supplementation on the radiation-induced damage in mouse intestine

Enteritis is a serious problem for patients having received abdominal radiation. This study was to investigate whether zinc affected intestinal injury induced by the radiation. ICR mice were divided randomly into three groups and treated with one of three different compounds. Two of the compounds contained zinc (gluconate and amino acid chelated with bovin prostate extract) and one was water. One week after receiving the treatment, they were irradiated with 6 or 10 Gy at the abdominal region. One, 2, and 4 weeks after the irradiation the animals were sacrificed to examine the histological changes in the intestinal mucosa. The apoptotic cell numbers were found to be significantly higher after irradiation. The number of the apoptotic cells increased with increasing radiation doses. In this study we found that zinc appears to have the capability to lower the occurrence of apoptosis in the intestinal mucosa, thus protecting intestinal mucosa from injuries. Based on this finding, it would be reasonable to suggest that zinc could be used as food supplements in patients with cancer receiving radiotherapy in a hope to reduce radiation induced toxicity.