Potential protection by vitamin D against DNA fragmentation and bone marrow cytotoxicity induced by chloramphenicol

Vitamin D (Vit D) has gained significant attention in health research recently as a result of its potential protective effects against various cellular damages. This study aimed to investigate the ability of vitamin D to mitigate deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) fragmentation in liver cells and bone marrow cytotoxicity induced by chloramphenicol (CAP). Sixty male albino mice were divided into six groups: control, chloramphenicol-treated (250 and 500 mg/kg body weight, 5 days per week for 4 weeks), vitamin D-treated (800 IU/kg body weight, 5 days per week for 4 weeks) and vitamin D plus chloramphenicol-treated groups. Results of DNA fragmentation test revealed that oral treatment with low and high doses of CAP significantly increased the frequency of DNA fragmentation in liver cells in comparison with the control, whereas oral treatment with vitamin D alone or plus low and high doses of chloramphenicol significantly reduced the genotoxicity in liver cells in comparison with the control group. Micronucleus analysis showed that CAP treatment at low and high doses significantly increased micronuclei formation and cytotoxicity in bone marrow cells. However, vitamin D significantly reduced the micronuclei formation in bone marrow cells of mice treated with chloramphenicol. Vitamin D alone showed no significant difference in the frequency of micronuclei and bone marrow cytotoxicity compared to the control group. Accordingly, further research exploring the mechanisms underlying the protective effects of vitamin D and investigating optimal dosing regimens is warranted. Also, clinical studies evaluating the efficacy of vitamin D supplementation to mitigate the adverse effects of chloramphenicol in human patients are recommended.