Protective effects of melatonin on ischemia-reperfusion injury of skeletal muscle [Melatoninin iskelet kasi{dotless} iskemi-reperfüzyon yaralanmasi{dotless} üzerine koruyucu etkisi]

Objectives: in this study,we investigated the antioxidant protective effects of melatonin on skeletal muscles of wistar albino-type rats with acute ischemia/reperfusion (i/r) injury. materials and methods: twenty-eight wistar albino-type male rats weighing between 334 to 422 g were included in this experimental study. the rats were randomly allocated into three groups including sham,i/r and i/r + melatonin groups,respectively. limb ischemia was achieved by clamping femoral arteries. after a two-hour ischemia period followed by 1.5hour reperfusion,muscle samples were collected for biochemical analysis and histopathological examination. results: muscle tissues of i/r groups revealed significantly higher antioxidant enzyme (superoxide dismutase,glutathione peroxidase,catalase) activities,and increased levels of malondialdehyde,nitric oxide,and protein car-bonyl content compared to the control group (p<0.001). levels of these parameters in muscle revealed significant reductions in the i/r + melatonin group compared to the i/r group (p<0.001). histopathological examination of ischemic muscles in the i/r group showed significant degeneration and inflammation compared to the control group whereas melatonin administered ischemic muscles showed significant reduction in degeneration and inflammation compared to the i/r group (p<0.001). conclusion: in the present skeletal muscle acute i/r injury model,protective effects of melatonin against reperfusion injury have been revealed. we suggest that the protective effect of melatonin against i/r damage in cases of extremity injuries with acute vascular compromise,extremity surgery with prolonged tourniquet time and acute compartment syndrome should be investigated with clinical trials.