Hepatotoxic Assessment of Co-treatment with Isoniazid and Efavirenz in Albino Rats

Abstract

This study comparatively investigated the toxicological effects of treatment with efavirenz, isoniazid and efavirenz-isoniazid (EFV-INH) combination on liver function parameters and histology of adult male albino rats. Animals used in this study were divided into five (5) groups A-E of sixteen (16) animals each. Animals in group A (placebo control) were treated with water while animals in group B (solvent control) were treated with arachis oil orally. Animals in groups C-E were treated orally with 15mg/kg of INH, 10mg/kg of EFV and a combination of INH-EFV for 2-8 weeks respectively. At the end of drug therapy, serum was extracted from centrifuged blood sample and evaluated for alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, total and conjugated bilirubin. Animals were sacrificed and liver was harvested, weighed and evaluated for histopathological changes. Effects produced by co-treatment with EFV-INH on absolute liver weight, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, conjugated and total bilirubin were insignificant (p>0.05) when compared to effects produced by treatment with individual doses of EFV and INH. Histopathological evaluation of the liver of animals treated with EFV-INH combination showed vascular congestion, inflammation of parenchyma and hepatocytes degeneration. These results show that co-therapy with EFV-INH in patients with human immunodeficiency virus /tuberculosis co-infection may not be associated with synergistic hepatotoxicity.