Topical Olive Leaf Extract Improves Healing of Oral Mucositis in Golden Hamsters.

Statement Of The Problem: Oral mucositis (OM) is a common side effect of anti-cancer drugs and needs significant attention for its prevention.

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the healing effects of olive leaf extract on 5-fluorouracil-induced OM in golden hamster.

Materials And Method: OM was induced in 63 male golden hamsters by the combination of 5-fluorouracil injections (days 0, 5 and 10) and the abrasion of the cheek pouch (days 3 and 4). On day 12, hamsters were received topical olive leaf extract ointment, base of ointment, or no treatment (control) for 5 days. Histopathology evaluations, blood examinations, and tissue malondialdehyde level measurement were performed 1, 3 and 5 days after treatments.

Results: Histopathology score and tissue malondialdehyde level were significantly lower in olive leaf extract treated group in comparison with control and base groups (= 0.000). Significant decreases in white blood cell, hemoglobin, hematocrit , and mean corpuscular volume and an increase in mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration were observed in olive leaf extract treated group in comparison with control and base groups (< 0.05).

Conclusion: Our findings demonstrated that daily application of olive leaf extract ointment had healing effect on 5-fluorouracil induced OM in hamsters. Moreover, the beneficial effect of olive leaf extract on OM might be due to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.