Topical Olive Leaf Extract Improves Healing of Oral Mucositis in Golden Hamsters

Statement of the problem: oral mucositis (om) is a common side effect of anticancer drugs and needs significant attention for its prevention. purpose: this study aimed to evaluate the healing effects of olive leaf extract on 5-fluorouracil-induced om in golden hamster. materials and method: om was induced in 63 male golden hamsters by the combination of 5-fluorouracil injections (days 0, 5 and 10) and the abrasion of the cheek pouch (days 3 and 4). on day 12, hamsters were received topical olive leaf extract ointment, base of ointment, or no treatment (control) for 5 days. histopathology evaluations, blood examinations, and tissue malondialdehyde level measurement were performed 1, 3 and 5 days after treatments. results: histopathology score and tissue malondialdehyde level were significantly lower in olive leaf extract treated group in comparison with control and base groups (p= 0.000). significant decreases in white blood cell, hemoglobin, hematocrit , and mean corpuscular volume and an increase in mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration were observed in olive leaf extract treated group in comparison with control and base groups (p< 0.05). conclusion: our findings demonstrated that daily application of olive leaf extract ointment had healing effect on 5-fluorouracil induced om in hamsters. moreover, the beneficial effect of olive leaf extract on om might be due to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.