Assessment of the Protective Role of Green Tea Extract in the Mandibular Condylar Cartilage Matrix Against Chondrotoxicity Induced by Ciprofloxacin in Albino Rats

Abstract

Ciprofloxacin is antibacterial drug with a broad-spectrum activity, it can induce chondrotoxicity which is of great clinical concern. Green tea (Camellia Sinensis) is one of the healthiest beverages which have many health benefits. The present study was aimed to investigate the preventive potential of green tea extract on mandibular matrix chondrotoxicity induced by ciprofloxacin in juvenile Wistar rats.

   Twenty male rats were used and divided into four equal groups, the Saline/Water (S/W), Saline/Green tea (S/G), Ciprofloxacin/Water (C/W) and Ciprofloxacin / Green tea (C/G) groups. On day 32 of age, all the animals in C/W and C/G treated groups were subcutaneously injected by ciprofloxacin as two subcutaneous injections of 600 mg/kg of body weight, eight hours apart, while the S/W and S/G groups were subcutaneously injected by saline. The S/G and the C/G treated groups were intragasticallygavaged by green tea extract in an oral dose of 300mg/kg/day, eight days before the subcutaneously injection of saline or ciprofloxacin and continues for ten days. On day 34, all the animals were anaesthetized and mandibular condylar samples were taken for histochemical and immunohistochemical analysis.

In the S/W and the S/G groups, the rat’s mandibular condylar cartilages showed evenly distributed toluidine blue staining uptake indicating a high proteoglycans secretion.  In the C/W group, the rat’s mandibular condylar cartilage showed a severe reduction of proteoglycans content, while in case of C/G group, a much more intense stain by toluidine blue was seen. Statistical analysis showed that green tea can cause a significant decrease in proteoglycan breakdown of the cartilage matrix in comparison with the C/W group (p<0.05).

    In S/W and S/G groups, the positive immune reaction for collagen II were observed mainly in the extracellular matrix of intermediate zone. In the C/W group, the positive immune reaction for collagen II was mainly seen in the proliferative and upper mature zone, while in case of C/G group, it was seen in the proliferative and mature zone.  Statistical analysis showed a non-significant increase in collagen II immune expression in C/G group in comparison with the C/W group (p>0.05). The beneficial effect of green tea may be by improving the body's anti-oxidation ability.

   This study provides the first evidence that green tea can decrease the chondrotoxic effects of ciprofloxacin in a rat mandibular condyle matrix.