Therapeutic effect of melatonin on carbon tetrachloride‐induced acute liver injury in rats

Abstract

The therapeutic effect of melatonin on acute liver injury was examined in rats intoxicated with carbon tetrachloride (CCl4). Melatonin (10, 50, or 100 mg/kg body weight [BW]) was intraperitoneally administered to male Wistar rats 6 hr after intraperitoneal injection of CCl4 (1.6 g/kg BW) at which time an apparent liver injury occurred. This post-melatonin administration dose dependently prevented the progression of liver injury at 24 hr after CCl4 injection, judging from the levels of serum transaminases, indices of liver cell damage. Rats injected with CCl4 alone showed an increase in liver lipid peroxide (LPO) content and a decrease in liver reduced glutathione content at 6 and 24 hr after the injection. The post-melatonin administration dose dependently ameliorated both changes found at 24 hr after CCl4 injection. Rats injected with CCl4 alone showed an increase in liver triglyceride (TG) content and decreases in serum TG concentration and liver tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase (TDO) activity, a marker of the inhibition of liver protein synthesis by CCl4, at 6 and 24 hr after the injection, and also a decrease in serum albumin concentration at 24 hr. The changes in serum TG, albumin concentration, liver TG content, and TDO activity found at 24 hr after CCl4 injection were not ameliorated by the post-administration of melatonin. The same administration of melatonin dose dependently reduced liver LPO content in CCl4-untreated rats. These results indicate that melatonin exerts a therapeutic effect on CCl4-induced acute liver injury in rats, possibly through its antioxidant action.

In vivo antioxidant effect of aqueous root bark, stem bark and leaves extracts of Vitex doniana in CCl4 induced liver damage rats

“…It could be considered that the non significant (P>0.05) increase in SOD and CAT values observed in the groups which received extracts could be related to the application period of the extracts, a more significant increase could be observed in the long-term periods of application. Moreover there was no significant (P>0.05) difference between all the extracts treated and normal control groups in the kidney level of TBARS, SOD and CAT when the extracts were administered to normal rats for 21 d except in the stem group where there was a significant (P<0.05) decrease in the level of TBARS. This suggests that the stem extract could improve normal renal function.…”

“…and trichloromethyl peroxyl (CCl 3 O 2 .) free radicals by cytochrome P450 enzyme and causes damage to hepatocytes [19][20][21][22] . Both trichloromethyl and its peroxy radical are capable of binding to proteins or lipids, or of abstracting a hydrogen atom from an unsaturated lipid, initiating lipid peroxidation and liver damage.…”

“…Methods: A total of 60 albino rats (36 induced liver damage and 24 non induced liver damage) were assigned into liver damage and non liver damage groups of 6 rats in a group. The animals in the CCl 4 induced liver damage groups, were induced by intraperitoneal injection with a single dose of CCl 4 (148 mg·ml -1 ·kg -1 body weight) as a 1:1 (v/v) solution in olive oil and were fasted for 36 h before the subsequent treatment with aqueous root bark, stem bark and leaves extracts of V. doniana and vitamin E as standard drug (100 mg/kg body weighy per day) for 21 d, while the animals in the non induced groups were only treated with the daily oral administration of these extracts at the same dose. The administration of CCl 4 was done once a week for a period of three weeks.…”

“…At the end of 21 d of treatment, the animals were anesthetized with chloroform and sacrificed by cervical capitation. The liver and the kidney tissues were excised washed and homogenized in suitable buffer and centrifuged at 4000 r/min for 15 min.…”

Nigella sativa seeds protect against hepatotoxicity and dyslipidemia induced by carbon tetrachloride in mice

“…Carbon tetrachloride CCl4 is widely used for experimental induction of liver damage (Parola , 1992;Thrall et al 2000). The principle causes of carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) induced hepatic damage are increased lipid peroxidation and decreased activities of antioxidant enzymes and generation of free radicals (Poli, 1993;Ohta et al, 2000). Rajesh and Latha, (2004) showed that various herbal extracts could protect organs against CCl4 induced oxidative stress by altering the levels of increased lipid peroxidation and enhancing the decreased activities of antioxidant enzymes.…”