The effects of lycopene on intestinal injury due to methotrexate in rats.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of lycopene (Lyc) on methotrexate (Mtx)-induced intestinal damage in rats.

Method: Twenty-eight male Sprague Dawley rats were divided into four equal groups: control, Mtx, Lyc, and Mtx-L.

Control Group: Rats were given only the vehicle. Lyc group: Rats were given Lyc (10 mg/kg) with corn oil by oral gavage for 10 days. Mtx group: Rats were injected intraperitoneally with a single dose of 20 mg/kg of Mtx and given corn oil by oral gavage. Mtx-L group: Rats were treated with Lyc (10 mg/kg) for 10 days after a single dose of Mtx (20 mg/kg). All of the rats were euthanized using terminal anesthesia, and the intestinal tissues were removed for histological examination and for pro-inflammatory cytokine measurement (tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β)), total oxidative status (TOS), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and oxidative stress index (OSI).

Results: Mtx administration increased histopathological damage and increased TNF-α, IL-1β, TOS, TAC, and OSI levels in the small intestine tissues. Lyc therapy applied to the Mtx-L group provided significant improvement in all parameters of histopathological damage to the small intestine and significantly reduced the levels of IL-1β, TOS, and OSI in the intestinal tissues.

Conclusions: The results of this study indicate that Lyc might be useful for protecting intestinal damage induced by Mtx in rats by reducing the increased oxidative stress and pro-inflammatory cytokine (IL-1β) levels.