N-Acetyl Cysteine Modifies the Action of Disulfiram on Cyclophosphamide Induced Cytotoxicity in Allium cepa Model

Disulfiram (DSF), also known as Bis(diethylthiocarbamoyl) disulfide, is widely used in the treatment of alcoholism due to its inhibition of aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH), leading to acetaldehyde accumulation and an adversive response to alcohol consumption. Beyond this application, Disulfiram has the potential to act as a pro-oxidant, increasing intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, and inducing oxidative stress-mediated apoptosis in cancer cells. It has been shown to upregulate pro-apoptotic proteins, while downregulating antiapoptotic proteins, enhancing its cytotoxic effects. Due to these pro-apoptotic actions of Disulfiram when used with chemotherapeutic agents resulted in adverse drug reaction. So, antioxidant may be useful in mitigating this interaction of Disulfiram’s action with chemotherapeutic agents. In this study we evaluated the effect of antioxidants such as N-Acetyl Cysteine and Oxalic acid in altering Disulfiram’s cytotoxic action on chemotherapeutic agents such as Cyclophosphamide and 5-Fluorouracil by Allium cepa assay. The root length was measured and histopathological studies were done to evaluate the cytotoxicity. Antioxidants such as N-Acetyl Cysteine and Oxalic acid can alter the Disulfiram’s effect on cytotoxic action of Cyclophosphamide. N-Acetyl Cysteine is found to be having more significant action in altering the Disulfiram’s action. Antioxidants can be used in cases where Disulfiram is used in combination with chemotherapeutic agents such as Cyclophosphamide to mitigate the synergistic effect of the cytotoxic agents and thus to avoid the associated toxicities.