Effects of Chinese herbal diet on hematopoiesis, immunity, and intestines of mice exposed to different doses of radiation

Tianyu Zheng; Xiaohui Shi; Shuang Nie; Lifeng Yin; Jian Zhu; Enda Yu; Hui Shen; Fengfeng Mo

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e15473

Effects of Chinese herbal diet on hematopoiesis, immunity, and intestines of mice exposed to different doses of radiation

Heliyon. 2023 Apr 18;9(5):e15473. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e15473. eCollection 2023 May.

Authors

Tianyu Zheng¹, Xiaohui Shi², Shuang Nie¹, Lifeng Yin¹, Jian Zhu¹, Enda Yu², Hui Shen¹, Fengfeng Mo²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Naval Nutrition and Food Hygiene, Faculty of Naval Medicine, Naval Medical University, 800 Xiangyin Road, Shanghai 200433, China.
² Department of Colorectal Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Naval Medical University, 800 Xiangyin Road, Shanghai 200433, China.

Abstract

Radiotherapy causes a series of side effects in patients with malignant tumors. Polygonati Rhizoma, Achyranthis Bidentatae Radix, and Epimedii Folium are all traditional Chinese herbs with varieties of functions such as anti-radiation and immune regulation. In this study, the above three herbs were used as a herbal diet to study their effects on the hematopoietic, immune, and intestinal systems of mice exposed to three doses of radiation. Our study showed that the diet had no radiation-protective effect on the hematopoietic and immune systems. However, at the radiation dose of 4 Gy and 8 Gy, the diet showed an obvious radiation-protective effect on intestinal crypts. At the dose of 8 Gy, we also found that the Chinese herbal diet had an anti-radiation effect on reducing the loss of the inhibitory nNOS⁺ neurons in the intestine. That provides a new diet for relieving the symptoms of hyperperistalsis and diarrhea in patients after radiotherapy.

Keywords: Achyranthis bidentatae radix; Acute radiation syndrome; Enteric nervous system; Epimedii folium; Polygonati rhizoma; nNOS.