Does Anzer Propolis Have a Protective Effect on Rabbit Spinal Cord Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury?*

INTRODUCTION: In this study, Anzer propolis, which can only be obtained from the Eastern Black Sea region in Turkey, is studied for its effect on spinal cord ischemia/reperfusion injury. METHODS: A total of 12 healthy male New Zealand White rabbits with an average weight of 3.0 to 3.5 kg were separated into two blind and randomized groups: the ischemia/reperfusion group (n=6) and the treatment group (n=6). Each rabbit in the treatment group was given a dose of 100 mg/kg of ethanol-dissolved Anzer propolis orally 1 hour before surgery. Blood samples were examined at the 0(th) hour and postoperatively at the 24(th) and 48(th) hours. Tissue samples were taken at the 48(th) hour during the sacrification. RESULTS: There was a statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of postoperative Tarlov scoring (P=0.012). There was a difference between the two groups in terms of the blood levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) at the 48(th) hour, myeloperoxidase (MPO) at the 24(th) and 48(th) hours, ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) at the 24(th) hour, and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and total oxidant status (TOS) at the 48(th) hour (P<0.005). There was also a difference between the two groups in terms of apoptotic index data obtained with the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT)‐mediated dUTP nick‐end labelling (TUNEL) method in the histopathological examination (P=0.001). In the transmission electron microscopic (TEM) analysis, while ischemia/reperfusion group generally had axon-myelin separation, axoplasmic dissolution and myelin separation, the propolis treatment group had normal myelin sequencing. DISCUSSION: In our study, after biochemical, histopathological, ultrastructural and neurological functional examination, it was demonstrated that Anzer propolis has sufficient neuroprotective effect on spinal cord ischemia/reperfusion injury in rabbits.