Affiliations: Food Safety Research Division, Korea Food Research
Institute, San 46-1, Backhyun, Bundang-gu, Sungnam, Kyonggi-do, 463-746,
Republic of Korea | Department of Medical Research, Korea Institute of
Oriental Medicine, Daejeon, 305-811, Republic of Korea | Department of Nutrition and Food Science, University
of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742-7521, USA | Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, Ewha
Womans University, 120-750, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Note: [] Address for correspondence: Food Safety Research Division, Korea
Food Research Institute, San 46-1, Backhyun, Bundang-gu, Sungnam, Kyonggi-do,
463-746, South Korea. Tel.: +1 82 31 780 9273; Fax: +1 82 31 709 9876; E-mail:
hschun@kfri.re.kr
Abstract: The toxicities associated with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), a potent
broad-spectrum chemotherapeutic agent, can not only affect the morbidity and
the efficacy of chemotherapy but also limit its clinical use. The objective of
this study is to investigate the effects of a commercial anthocyanin-rich
extract from bilberry (AREB) against 5-FU-induced myelotoxicity in vivo,
and against chemosensitivity to 5-FU in vitro. A single injection of 5-FU
at 200 mg/kg induced severe peripheral erythrocytopenia, thrombocytopenia and
leucopenia as well as hypocellularity of the spleen and bone marrow in C57BL/6
mice. Oral administration of 500 mg/kg of AREB for 10 days significantly
increased the number of red blood cells, neutrophils, and monocytes in
peripheral blood to 1.2-fold, 9-fold, and 6-fold, respectively, compared with
those seen after treatment with 5-FU alone (p< 0.05–0.001). The hypocellularity of the spleen and bone marrow caused by 5-FU
was also distinctly alleviated in the AREB-treated group. Furthermore, AREB
treatment with 50 and 100 μg/ml as a monomeric anthocyanin
did not interfere with, but rather enhanced the chemotherapeutic efficacy of
5-FU in vitro. These results suggest that AREB may have protective
potential against 5-FU-induced myelotoxiciy and/or the ability to enhance the
chemotherapeutic effectiveness of 5-FU.
