2,3-Dihydroxybenzoic acid. Effect on mortality rate in a septic rat model.

Neutrophil-derived oxygen-free radicals may play a role in organ dysfunction associated with generalized sepsis. A rat model was used to test the effects of two free radical scavengers, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and 2,3-dihydroxybenzoic acid (2,3-DHB), on mortality from intra-abdominal sepsis produced by cecal ligation and perforation. Being an iron-chelating agent, 2,3-DHB may have an additional bacteriostatic effect. Therapeutic regimens included no treatment; gentamicin sulfate (2 mg given intraperitoneally [IP] every eight hours); DMSO (2 g/24 hr given IP every eight hours in divided doses); 2,3-DHB (35 mg/kg given IP every eight hours); and combinations of gentamicin with each free radical scavenger. No statistically significant improvement in survival was obtained by therapeutic intervention with gentamicin alone, DMSO alone, 2,3-DHB alone, or gentamicin in combination with DMSO. When used in combination with gentamicin, 2,3-DHB yielded a statistically significant improvement in survival when compared with gentamicin alone or with no treatment. These results show that 2,3-DHB when used in combination with gentamicin has a beneficial effect on mortality following intra-abdominal sepsis in this model.