A Prospective Experimental Study on the Protective Effect of Resveratrol against Amikacin-Induced Ototoxicity in Rats

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the protective effect of resveratrol against amikacin-induced ototoxicity in rats by otoacoustic emission and histopathology of the cochlea.

This study was conducted with 31 Sprague Dawley adult female rats that were 20-21 weeks old and 190-245 g in weight. Before the drug administration, distortion product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE) tests were performed in both ears of each rat. The rats were divided into four groups. Group 1 (n=7) received ethanol 1cc 4%, Group 2 (n=8) received 600 mg/kg amikacin, Group 3 (n=8) received 10 mg/kg resveratrol and 600 mg/kg amikacin, and Group 4 (n=8) received 1cc resveratrol at 10 mg/kg. The drugs were administered once a day for 21 consecutive days. Control DPOAE tests were performed at the 7th, 14th, and 21st days after the administration of drugs. At the end of the study, the rats were sacrificed and their cochleae were dissected. The cochleae were evaluated for histopathologic changes.

There was no statistically significant difference in the DPOAE measurements before the procedure between groups. The DPOAE measurements significantly decreased after the procedure in the amikacin group. There was no statistically significant difference in DPOAE measurements after the procedure in the amikacin + resveratrol, resveratrol, and ethanol groups. The histopathologic findings supported these results.

We found that if resveratrol is administered with amikacin, the severity of amikacin-induced hearing loss is decreased. These findings suggest that resveratrol, a strong antioxidant, has a protective effect in amikacin ototoxicity.