| Sumario: | Objective: To investigate the radioprotective and prophylactic effects of Myrtus communis (MC) in kidney, bladder, and ovary samples in an animal model. Materials and Methods: Female rats (n=30) were divided into four groups. The control group (C) (n=6) received only oral saline (SF) for four days. Ionizing radiation (IR) groups were organized as follows: "IR group (IR)" (n=8) received oral SF for four days starting on the day of administration; "MC treatment group (MC-tx)" (n=8) received oral MC for four days beginning on the day of irradiation; and "MC pretreatment group (MC-Ptx)" (n=8) received oral MC for a total of eight days, starting four days before irradiation. MC was administered via oral gavage. Irradiation was performed at 10 Gray (Gy) in a single dose. On the fourth day of irradiation, all rats were sacrificed, the tissues were examined histopathologically, and caspase-9 and caspase-3 levels were examined using western blotting to assess mitochondrial apoptosis. Results: Radiation-induced damage decreased across all treatment groups. Caspase-9 and caspase-3 levels were significantly lower in the MC-Ptx and MC-tx groups compared to the IR group in all tissues (p<0.01). Conclusion: Myrtus communis significantly ameliorated IR-induced damage to genitourinary tissues by both prophylactic and therapeutic applications. Therefore, the findings of this study may contribute to the development of new strategies in radioprotection.
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