Amelioration of radiation-induced hematological and biochemical alterations by Alstonia scholaris (a medicinal plant) extract.

The radioprotective efficacy of a hydro-alcoholic extracted material from the bark of Alstonia scholaris (ASE) was studied in mice against radiation-induced hematological and biochemical alterations. Swiss albino mice were administered ASE (100 mg/kg body weight/d for 5 consecutive day) orally prior to whole-body gamma irradiation (7.5 Gy). Radiation exposure resulted in a significant decline (P<.001) in erythrocytes and hemoglobin until the third day, following a gradual recovery (ie, day 7), but these values did not reach normal values during the remainder of the animals' life span. Hematocrit percentage declined significantly (P<.001) until day 15. In contrast, ASE-pretreated irradiated animals had significantly higher erythrocyte, hematocrit, and hemoglobin values than the irradiated controls. Furthermore, a significant elevation in lipid peroxidation level over normal was recorded in gamma-irradiated mice, whereas this increase was considerably lower in ASE-pretreated animals. Pretreatment with ASE caused a significant increase in glutathione levels in serum as well as in liver in comparison to irradiated animals. This study showed that ASE protects against radiation-induced hematological and biochemical alterations in Swiss albino mice.