Prophylactic feeding with immune-enhanced diet ameliorates chemoradiation-induced gastrointestinal injury in rats

Materials and methods: Forty-eight Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into control (C, n = 6), irradiation (IR, n = 14), fluoropyrimidine (5-FU, n = 14)-treated, IR + 5-FU (n = 14)-treated groups. Half of each irradiated and/or 5-FU-treated groups were previously fed with IED containing arginine, omega-3-fatty acids and RNA fragments, while the other half were fed a standard rat diet (SD) for eight days before the induction of IR or injection of 5-FU. In IR groups, whole abdominal irradiation (11 Gy) was performed with 6 MV photons. In the 5-FU groups, fluoropyrimidine (100 mg/kg) was administered intraperitoneally 30 min prior to irradiation. All animals were sacrificed on the 4th day of IR or 5-FU injection. Results: Bacterial colony counts in the ceca and mesenteric lymph nodes of IED-fed rats, which have received either 5-FU and/or irradiation were significantly lower than the corresponding SD-fed groups. Morphometric results revealed that gastric, ileal and colonic injuries were less in IED-treated IR or IR + 5-FU + IED groups, as compared to SD-fed groups. However, IED did not alter DNA fragmentation ratios. Conclusion: Prophylactic feeding of IED has a protective effect on chemoradiation-induced gastrointestinal injury, which appears to involve the eradication of bacterial overgrowth.