Anti-inflammatory and healing action of oral gel containing borneol monoterpene in chemotherapy-induced mucositis in rats ( Rattus norvegicus )

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of gels containing the monoterpene borneol in induced oral mucositis using an animal model. Gels were prepared with borneol at 1.2% and 2.4% (w/w). Oral mucositis was induced by administration of three doses of 5-fluorouracil (30 mg/kg, i.p.) and injury with acetic acid (50%, v/v) soaked in filter paper applied to right cheek mucosa for 60s. Four subgroups comprising 12 animals each were formed. Six animals from each group were sacrificed at days seven and fourteen after oral mucositis induction. Mucous samples were processed and stained with hematoxylin-eosin and Masson’s Trichrome. The semiquantitative evaluation involved observation of inflammatory parameters. ImageJ® software was used in the quantitative evaluation. For statistical analyses, Two-way ANOVA, followed by Tukey’s post-test (p <0.05), were employed. Borneol 2.4% gel proved effective in the treatment of oral mucositis with statistically significant differences between groups for angiogenesis control, inflammatory cell count reduction and percentage neoformed collagen increase. The confirmation of anti-inflammatory and healing action of borneol in oral mucositis in rats renders it a good marker for predicting this activity for plant extracts rich in this substance.