Therapeutic efficacy of fever-reducing and invigorating Chinese medicine in the treatment of patients with acute radiation enteritis and its effects on nitric oxide level and morphometrics in intestinal mucosa with radiation-induced enteritis in rats

Objective: To evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of fever-reducing and invigorating Chinese medicine (FRICM) on acute radiation enteritis and effects on nitric oxide level and morphometrics in intestinal mucosa with radiation-induced enteritis in rats. Methods: Altogether 235 patients of acute radiation enteritis with carcinoma of uterine cervix were observed. They were divided into two groups: a FRICM group (administered orally with FRICM) and a control group (administered orally with smectite powder 3 g tid and Norfloxacin 0.2 g bid). Forty-eight Wistar rats were divided into four groups: a FRICM group given (FRICM, orally), a western medicine group (Norfloxacin, orally). An enteritis group (irradiation only) and a control group (without irradiation). In these rats intestinal NO concentrations, mean villous height and number of villi/cm were measured. Results: The notable effective rates in patients of Chinese herbal and western medicine groups were 93.87% and 20.82% respectively, (P<0.01). In rats, compared with the enteritis group, in both FRICM and western medicine groups there were more intestinal villi (P<0.001), the villous height was significantly increased (P<0.001) and the intestinal NO concentration was significantly decreased (P<0.05). There was no significant difference between the FRICM and the Western medicine groups. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that the most significant benefit of FRICM in the treatment of patients with acute radiation enteritis was orally effective within 24 h. The results of the animal study showed that FRICM could protect intestinal mucosa and accelerate its healing from radiation damages, as well decrease intestinal NO concentration, which might have a beneficial effect in the protection of intestinal mucosa from radiation damage. The mechanism is worthy of further studies