Mitigation of intestinal cytotoxicity of cisplatin by EDTA in rats.

Cisplatin (cis-dichlorodiammineplatinum-II), an antitumor agent containing platinum, produced acute necrotizing enteritis in rats. This toxic side effect was significantly reduced by oral treatment with CaNa2EDTA. The protective effect of CaNa2EDTA against intestinal cytotoxicity of cisplatin was dose-related. Based on histopathological evaluation of cell necrosis and mitotic index, it was estimated that pretreatment with CaNa2EDTA in drinking water (75 mM) and by gavage (1.5 g/kg) prevented intestinal cytotoxicity by up to 90% compared with cisplatin controls.