Hepatitis c virus (HCV) is the major cause for chronic hepatitis, Sofosbuvir (SOF) is a primary treatment choice for HCV patients however it has side effects, Grape seed extract (GSE) is a dietary supplement having an antioxidant property.
Aim: This work focused on possible effect of SOF on tongue Papillae and assessment of probable protective role of GSE.
methodology: adult male Albino rats were utilized (n=30), received drugs orally , a single daily dose for 6 weeks. The animals were divided into three groups. Group Ⅰ (control): received distilled water only. Group Ⅱ (SOF ): received 40 mg\kg\day of SOF dissolved in distilled water (8mg\ml) via gastric tube. Group Ⅲ (combination SOF& GSE): received SOF with the same concentration as before in combination with GSE with dose of 200mg \kg\day dissolved in distilled water given via gastric tube. After 6 weeks, all animals were sacrificed by ketamine overdose; tongues were dissected , prepared for examination under light microscope using Hematoxylin and Eosin (H & E) and immunohistochemical staining using ki67, CD20.
Results: SOF group showed degenerative changes to papillae including torn keratin layer, intracellular epithelial vacuolations, degenerative areas in connective tissue with leucocytic infiltrations. Immunohistochemically and statistically, there was highly significant reduction in ki67 count, and in CD20 area % in Gp Ⅱ papillae compared to Gp Ⅰ and Gp Ⅲ. Administration of GSE with SOF minimized these changes.
Conclusions: SOF is proved to induce degenerative changes in tongue papillae which can be attenuated by GSE when co-administered with it.