OBJECTIVE: To investigate antioxidant properties of hesperidin against gastric lesions in immobilized rats with immunostaining of caspase-3 and IL-10. STUDY DESIGN: Thirty male Wistar albino rats were assigned to control, stress, and stress+ hesperidin groups. Immobilization stress was created by rodent restrainers lined with an absorbent pad. Immobiliza-tion cones were secured using 2 strips of clear packing tape and laboratory tape wrapped around the base of the tail solely to cue release from the restrainer. The control group was administered isotonic saline solu-tion for 14 days. The stress group was systematically immobilized 3 hours per day for 14 consecutive days using rodent restrainers. One hour before immobiliza-tion stress, 30 mg/kg hesperidin was administered for 14 days in the stress+ hesperidin group. Blood samples were taken from the animals for biochemical mark-ers MDA, GSH-Px, and MPO. Gastric tissues were processed for routine histological paraffin wax embedding. Five-mu m-thick sections were obtained from paraffin blocks and stained with hematoxylineosin caspase-3 and IL-10 immunostaining. RESULTS: Compared to the control group, MDA and MPO values were higher and GSH content was lower in the stress group, but hesperidin treatment restored these values close to those of the control groups. His-tologically, the control group showed no pathology. The stress group showed degenerative nuclei, lymphocyte accumulation, vascular dilation/congestion, and hyperplasic muscle. In the stress+ hesperidin group, most pathology observed in the stress group was restored.Caspase-3 expression was mostly negative in the control group, while positive reaction was observed in sur- face epithelial cell nuclei and gastric gland nuclei in the stress group. In the stress+ hesperidin group, caspase-3 expression was positive in some cells and glands. In the control group, IL-10 expression was negative, while dense IL-10 expression was observed in the nuclei and cytoplasm of surface epithelial cells, in the foveola gas- tric, in glandular cells in the stress group. In the stress + hesperidin group, IL-10 expression was only positive in some solitary leukocytes and cells around the vessel. CONCLUSION: It was observed that anaphylactic administration of hesperidin causes a decrease in lipid peroxidation and inflammation, thus promoting cell survival and partially preventing structural and integrity of gastric tissue.

WOS:000765836000001