Oral administration of caffeic acid ameliorates the effect of cisplatin on brush border membrane enzymes and antioxidant system in rat intestine.

Cisplatin (CP) is a widely used antineoplastic drug that exhibits gastrointestinal toxicity. We have previously shown that administration of a single dose of CP results in a decrease in the activities of several brush border membrane (BBM) enzymes, induces oxidative stress and alters the activities of several antioxidant enzymes in the small intestine of rats. In the present study we have investigated the effect of treatment with the dietary antioxidant caffeic acid (CA) on CP induced biochemical changes in the intestine. Administration of a single intraperitoneal dose of CP alone (6 mg/kg body weight) led to a decrease in the activities of the BBM enzymes, increase in lipid peroxidation, decrease in sulfhydryl groups and changes in the activities of catalase, superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase, glutathione reductase, glutathione S-transferase and thioredoxin reductase. Administration of two doses of CA (each of 250 mg/kg body weight), at 15 and 120 min after treatment with CP, significantly attenuated the CP-induced changes in all these parameters but the administration of CA alone had no effect. These results suggest that CA is an effective agent in reducing the effects of CP on the intestine and could prove to be useful in alleviating the gastrointestinal toxicity of this drug.