The Protective Role of Radix astragali against ototoxicity Caused by cisplatin / 听力学及言语疾病杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To study the protective role against cisplatin-induced ototoxicity by using radix astra-gali in rats. Methods Forty rats were randomly divided into four groups. Group A received saline as controls. Group B received radix astragali. Group C received injection of cisplatin(4 mg/kg) as experiments for 6 days. Group D received both radix astragali (5 g/kg) and cisplatin (4 mg/kg). Distortion product acoustic emission (DPOAE) was applied to each rat before and 7 days after cisplatin injection. All the animals were sacrificed on the 7th day. Half of the cochleas were observed by frozen section and the apoptosis of hair cells was detected by TUNEL meth-od. Scanning electron microscopy was utilized to evaluate the cochlear morphology of the other rats. Results The DPOAE amplitudes of Group C decreased significantly compared to the group A and group B(P<0.01). The dam-age and apoptosis of hair cells were noted in the group C and group D, while the hair cells of group A and group B showed no sign of apoptosis or damage. Compare to experimental group , the DPOAE amplitudes of group D were higher, and the damage and apoptosis of hair cells were significantly lower(P<0.05). Conclusion This study sug-gests that radix astragali can effectively reduce cisp[atin ototoxicity.