The Protective Effect of Orally Administered Amlodipine against Intestinal Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury in Rats

Objective- This study investigated the effect of amlodipine on intestinal ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats Design- Experimental study Animals- Fifteen male Sprague-Dawly rats weighing 200-220g Procedure- Rats were randomly divided into 3 groups: IR group (operation with clamping), sham group (operation without clamping), and IRA group (operation with clamping and 5mg/kg amlodipine pretreatment). Intestinal ischemia-reperfusion was performed by occlusion (clamping) of the arteria mesenterica anterior for 60 min, followed by 60 min reperfusion. Levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and malondialdehyde (MDA) were determined in intestinal tissue of rats. Intestinal tissues were also investigated histopathologically. Results- Pretreatment with amlodipine impeded the increase in lipid peroxidation and mitigated GPx and SOD levels. Amlodipine also prevented I/R cellular damage and histological alternations in intestinal tissue. The levels of MDA (P<0.006) was significantly increased in the intestine of IR group rats. Intestinal GPx and SOD levels were decreased significantly (p<0.001) after I/R. Conclusion and clinical relevance- The findings of this study suggest that amlodipine has a preventive activity on I/R-induced intestine injury. The observed preventive effects of amlodipine in the present study can possibly be mediated by means of its well-known antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potential. Therefore, we suggest that amlodipine may be a novel approach to therapy for protective intestinal I/R injury.