Effect of nerolidol on cyclophosphamide-induced bone marrow and hematological toxicities in Swiss albino mice.

Cyclophosphamide (CP) is one of the commonly used anti-cancer drugs, but its use is limited due to myelotoxicity. Nerolidol (NER) is a lipophilic, bioactive sesquiterpene reported with neuroprotective, cardioprotective, gastroprotective and renal protective potential but its myelo-protective potential is underexplored. This study aims to evaluate the myeloid-protective potential of NER in CP-induced myelotoxic mice. NER 200 and 400 mg/kg p.o. was given from 1^st to 14^th day. CP 200 mg/kg, i.p., was administered on 7^th day. At the end of the study, mice were sacrificed, blood and bone marrow were collected and stored for hematological, biochemical and histopathological estimations. Bone marrow analysis showed reduced bone marrow cellularity, α esterase activity, colony-forming unit granulocyte-macrophage (CFU-GM), colony-forming unit erythroid (CFU-E) and burst-forming unit-erythroid (BFU-E). Hematological findings showed reduced peripheral blood count, and granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF), whereas biochemical analysis showed increased malondialdehyde (MDA), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), and reduced superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and interleukin-10 (IL-10) level. Histopathological study further strengthened our findings. Treatment with NER significantly reversed the hematotoxic and myelotoxic aberrations and retained the structural integrity of bone marrow. Findings of the current study suggested that NER is a potential therapeutic molecule that can mitigate CP-induced hematotoxic and myelotoxic manifestations. However, more detailed studies are needed to explicate the mechanism underlying its protective effect.