Serum biochemical parameters profile of Wistar rats following daily administration of some food spices

Abstract

Garlic, ginger, and turmeric are widely used together or individually as spices in food or for their different medicinal purposes all around Nigeria. This study was conducted to assess the effects of consuming either of the three samples on the livers of wistar rats. Standard methods of analyses were employed for the study. A set of fifteen male Wistar Rats divided equally into three groups of which group I served as control and groups II and III as test groups were used for each of the samples; a total of 45 wistar rats were used for this study. The rats in the test groups for each of the samples were placed on different concentrations (group II: 100 mg/kg Body Weight and group III: 200 mg/kg BW) of the sample extract for 21 days. Results obtained reveal that ethanol extracts (100 mg/kg BW and 200 mg/kg BW) of garlic significantly (p<0.05) reduced the liver enzymes Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT) and Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP), and the bilirubin levels but significantly (p < 0.05) reduced Aspartate Aminotransferase (AST) against the control. However, ginger extracts and turmeric extracts significantly (p<0.05) increased ALT and AST in the test groups against the control, and while ginger extracts significantly (p<0.05) increased the levels of bilirubins, turmeric extracts significantly (p<0.05) reduced the levels of bilirubins in the attest groups against the control. The significant decrease in the levels of ALT, ALP, total and conjugated bilirubin levels by garlic extracts shows garlic hepatoprotective potential while the significant increase in the levels of ALT and AST by ginger extracts and turmeric extracts shows their hepatotoxic potential to the body of the experimental animals employed.