Rhubarb extract partially improves mucosal integrity in chemotherapy-induced intestinal mucositis

Table 1 Total daily food (g) and water (mL) intake, and faecal (g) and urine (mL) output for the trial period prior to the administration of 5-FU (days 1 to 5)

	Water	LDR	HDR
Food intake (g)	51.0 ± 0.7	52.3 ± 2.0	53.8 ± 1.0
Water Intake (mL)	122.5 ± 7.3	129.4 ± 12.0	115.0 ± 7.1
Wet faecal output (g)	6.2 ± 0.3	6.8 ± 0.3	6.6 ± 0.4
Urine output (mL)	79.3 ± 5.6	79.8 ± 6.1	85.8 ± 5.0

Rats were gavaged daily with water, LDR or HDR (1 mL); data expressed as mean (g or mL) ± SEM. LDR: Low-dose RE; HDR: High-dose RE; RE: Rhubarb extract.

Table 2 Total daily food (g) and water (mL) intake, and faecal (g) and urine (mL) output for the trial period after the administration of 5-FU (days 6 to 8)

	Water + saline	Water + 5-FU	LDR + 5-FU	HDR + 5-FU
Food intake (g)	29.1 ± 0.6	11.5 ± 1.6e	7.8 ± 0.6	5.2 ± 1.4d
Water intake (mL)	75.0 ± 4.3	94.4 ± 7.7	107.2 ± 5.1	90.6 ± 12.9
Wet faecal output (g)	3.3 ± 0.2	2.9 ± 0.3	2.1 ± 0.3	1.7 ± 0.3c
Urine output (mL)	47.5 ± 4.7	64.5 ± 6.7	71.0 ± 2.1	70.6 ± 10.4

Rats were gavaged daily with water, LDR or HDR (1 mL) and received an intraperitoneal injection of either saline or 5-FU on day 5.

^cP < 0.05,

^dP < 0.01 vs water + 5-FU;

^eP < 0.001 vs water + saline. All values are expressed as mean [% relative to bodyweight (× 10^-2)] ± SEM. LDR: Low-dose RE; HDR: High-dose RE; RE: Rhubarb extract.

Table 3 Visceral organ weights of rats gavaged daily with water, low-dose or high-dose rhubarb extract (1 mL) during an 8-d trial period and administered with an intraperitoneal injection of saline or 5-fluorouracil on day 5

	Water + saline	Water + 5-FU	LDR + 5-FU	HDR + 5-FU
Thymus	14.6 ± 1.3	6.6 ± 0.5e	9.4 ± 0.6	9.5 ± 0.9
Heart	37.5 ± 0.8	39.0 ± 1.0	39.4 ± 0.8	39.1 ± 0.7
Lung	60.0 ± 2.2	63.0 ± 2.5	67.3 ± 4.7	71.9 ± 3.0
Liver	362.9 ± 6.5	362.7 ± 11.0	358.8 ± 7.2	339.7 ± 7.2
Spleen	20.3 ± 0.5	15.6 ± 0.3e	15.2 ± 0.4	14.6 ± 0.5
Kidneys	75.6 ± 5.3	86.5 ± 1.7	88.7 ± 1.1	89.4 ± 2.7
Caecum	39.7 ± 1.1	43.7 ± 2.4	49.2 ± 2.5	47.0 ± 2.1
Stomach	57.3 ± 2.6	55.3 ± 1.1	58.8 ± 0.9	61.9 ± 1.2

^eP < 0.001 vs water + saline. All values are expressed as mean [% relative to bodyweight (× 10^-2)] ± SEM. LDR: Low-dose RE; HDR: High-dose RE; RE: Rhubarb extract.

Table 4 Gastrointestinal organ weights of rats gavaged daily with water, low-dose and high-dose rhubarb extract (1 mL) during an 8-d rial period and administered an intraperitoneal injection of saline or 5-fluorouracil on day 5

	Water + saline	Water + 5-FU	LDR + 5-FU	HDR+ 5-FU
Duodenum	0.2 ± 0.0	0.2 ± 0.0	0.2 ± 0.0	0.2 ± 0.0
Jejunum and ileum	2.1 ± 0.1	1.9 ± 0.0b	1.9 ± 0.2	1.9 ± 0.1
Colon	0.5 ± 0.0	0.5 ± 0.0	0.7 ± 0.0d	0.6 ± 0.0

^bP < 0.01 vs water + saline;

^dP < 0.01 vs water + 5-FU. All values are expressed as mean (% relative to bodyweight) ± SEM. LDR: Low-dose RE; HDR: High-dose RE; RE: Rhubarb extract.

Table 5 Gastrointestinal organ lengths of rats gavaged daily with water, low-dose and high-dose rhubarb extract (1 mL) during an 8-d trial period and administered an intraperitoneal injection of saline or 5-fluorouracil on day 5

	Water + saline	Water + 5-FU	LDR + 5-FU	HDR+ 5-FU
Duodenum	5.5 ± 0.2	4.8 ± 0.1	5.1 ± 0.2	4.8 ± 0.2
Jejunum and ileum	71.6 ± 2.3	64.8 ± 0.9a	62.9 ± 1.8	63.5 ± 1.7
Colon	11.1 ± 0.3	10.6 ± 0.4	11.2 ± 0.2	10.8 ± 0.4

^aP < 0.05 vs water + saline. All values expressed as mean (cm) ± SEM. LDR: Low-dose RE; HDR: High-dose RE; RE: Rhubarb extract.