Cisplatin is one of the most remarkable successes in the war on cancer. The present study was aimed to evaluate the protective effect of turmeric in cisplatin induced toxicity in rats. A total of 48 rats which were divided into 4 groups and treated as follows: Group 1: sham control, 2: cisplatin control @ 2 mg/kg b.wt, 3: turmeric control @ 0.05 mg/kg b.wt and 4: cisplatin + turmeric each with the above mentioned doses. Body weights were recorded at weekly intervals and organ weights were recorded at the time of sacrifice on day 28. Whole blood was collected at fortnight intervals for estimation of hematological parameters like RBC, Hb, WBC and PCV. Stomach and intestines were collected for estimation of TBARS, GSH and protein carbonyls in tissue homogenates and for histopathology. Body weight gain, relative organ weight, RBC, WBC, Hb, PCV, were significantly (P < 0.05) decreased in cisplatin administered group. The ameliorative group 4 showed mild to moderate improvement in all parameters in comparison to group 2.Histopathological sections from group 2 stomach showed marked congestion and hemorrhages between the villi and at the base of villi. Intestine Sections from group 2 showed marked disruption of villi epithelium. Groups 1 and 3 did not reveal any lesions of pathological significance. From this study, it was concluded that the adverse effects of cisplatin can be reverted by administration of turmeric in a dose-dependent manner.
