Abstract
Purpose: The objective of this study was to investigate the mechanism for ferulic acid (FA)-induced radioprotection by evaluating the recovery of bone marrow cells and peripheral blood hematology.
Materials and methods: Balb/c mice were irradiated at a dose of 2.5 Gy using cobalt-60 gamma resources. Following irradiation, FA was administered intragastrically for seven consecutive days. Hematopoietic progenitor colony-forming cell assays were used to assess the reconstitution of bone marrow after radiation-induced myelosuppression. Cytokine levels were investigated using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and Western blot analysis.
Results: The results demonstrated that FA treatment enhanced hematopoietic progenitor cell activity resulting in accelerated blood cell recovery. FA administration increased levels of granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) and erythropoietin.
Conclusion: These results suggest radioprotective efficacy by FA may be a result of early recovery of hematopoietic cells due to enhanced production of G-CSF and erythropoietin.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the National Nature Sciences Foundation of China (grant nos. 30730112, 81073028).
Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.