Evaluation of resveratrol radiomodifier effect using Danio rerio embryos irradiated with gamma radiation

Resveratrol, mainly found in the forms trans-3,5,4 ', 5-trihydroxystilbene and cis-3,5,4'-trihydroxystilbene is a substance that has many beneficial health properties, among them, vasodilation, lipoprotein metabolism, inhibition of platelet aggregation and even has therapeutic and preventive action of cancer. An important highlight is its ability to act as an antioxidant, making it attractive for use as a radiomodifying substance. Ionizing radiation (IR), which is used in radiotherapy, can cause various damage to healthy cells, their components and molecular structures, depending on the absorbed dose and the cell type. Danio rerio (paulistinha)is an ideal animal model to evaluate the biological effects of IR. In this work, resveratrol was evaluated as a potential radiomodifier in assays with embryos exposed at different hours post-fertilization (hpf), with and without the chorion, to different doses of gamma radiation. All assays were based on the protocol of OECD 236. To understand the effects on mortality of embryos exposed to resveratrol and radiation apart, values of LC₅₀ and LD₅₀, respectively, were obtained. The results were: LC₅₀ of 154 μM (for 2hpf embryos), 283 μM (for 12hpf embryos), 699 μM (for embryos of 24 hpf without chorion). And DL50 of 11.50Gy and 12.18Gy (embryos of 4 and 6hpf), 24.8Gy (embryos of 24hpf with chorion) and 16.99 (embryos of 24 hpf without the chorion). From these results, concentrations of 15, 30 and 60 μM of resveratrol and doses 5 and 15 Gy (for embryos of 4 and 6 and 24 hpf without chorion) 10 and 20 Gy (for 24hpf embryos with chorion) were chosen from gamma radiation to observe the radiomodifying activity of resveratrol in trials with a duration of 144 hours, the dead embryos were counted every 24 hours and these results were compared with a Z test. There was difference in the percentage of mortality in all the trials, but for the exposed to radiation with 24hpf without chorion in the presence of 30μM of resveratrol the number of dead embryos was less and statistically significant indicating radioprotection of resveratrol. In the 24hpf embryos irradiated in the presence of 60μM, the mortality of irradiated embryos was higher when compared to irradiated embryos, indicating that in higher concentrations resveratrol may exert the radiosensitizer function, although in this case it was not statistically significant, these result corroborates with data in the literature that indicate the sensitizing action of the compound in cells exposed to radiation in this same concentration. (author)