A biochemical approach to the anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antiapoptotic potential of beta-carotene as a protective agent against bromobenzene-induced hepatotoxicity in female Wistar albino rats

Abstract

Bromobenzene is a compound which has contributed much in understanding the mechanisms involved in xenobiotic hepatotoxicity induced by drugs and environment pollutants. In the present study, the protective and ameliorative effect of beta-carotene was investigated against bromobenzene-induced hepatotoxicity and compared with silymarin, a standard hepatoprotective reference drug. Beta-carotene (10 mg/kg b.w. p.o.) was administered to the rats for 9 days before intragastric intubation of bromobenzene (10 mmol/kg b.w.). Liver marker enzymes (aspartate transaminase, alanine transaminase and alkaline phosphatase), total protein content, bilirubin, total cholesterol, high-density lipoproteins, triglycerides, antioxidant status (reduced glutathione, superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione-S-transferase and glutathione peroxidase) were assessed along with histopathological analysis. ELISA was performed for analysing the levels of cytokines such as TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 in serum and in the liver. Caspase-3, COX-2 and NF-κB were evaluated by Western blotting. Administration of bromobenzene resulted in elevated levels of liver marker enzymes, bilirubin, lipid peroxidation and cytokines but deterioration in total protein content, antioxidant levels and histopathological conditions. Pre-treatment with beta-carotene not only significantly decreased the levels of liver markers, lipid peroxidation and cytokines but also improved histoarchitecture and increased antioxidant levels minimising oxidative stress, and reduced factors contributing to apoptosis. This significant reversal of the biochemical changes on pre-treatment with beta-carotene in comparison with rats administered with bromobenzene clearly demonstrates that beta-carotene possesses promising hepatoprotective effect through its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antiapoptotic activity and hence is suggested as a potential therapeutic agent for protection from bromobenzene.

The Protective Effect of Beta Carotene Against Amikacin Induced Nephrotoxicity

“…In addition to that, the results of the current study showed that the group pretreated with BC and then AMK with BC also showed the protective effect of the BC, which showed a significant decrease (p ˂ 0.05) (near the normal) in serum urea and creatinine, and this demonstrates that the pretreatment of BC can give the same protection as that when administered concomitantly. Many studies have been done and pretreated the rats with BC and demonstrated the protective effect of BC by bringing the biochemical markers near normal and also confirmed by the histological results (11,12).…”

Therapeutic Investigation of Palm Oil Mill Effluent-Derived Beta-Carotene in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Retinopathy via the Regulation of Blood–Retina Barrier Functions

“…The natural agent PBC is shown to reduce oxidative stress in neurons and blood vessels, including retinal tissue [ 18 , 58 , 59 ]. Moreover, the administration of BC is also known to enhance catalase activity to enhance cytoprotective actions [ 60 ].…”

Hepatoprotective Mechanisms Induced by Spinach Methanolic Extract in Rats with Hyperglycemia—An Immunohistochemical Analysis

“…Recent research has shown that spinach extracts and some of their representative phytochemicals (carotenoids and lutein) provide a hepatoprotective effect by boosting the activity of the superoxide dismutase-1 (SOD1), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx1) [64][65][66]. However, when two different models-one for LPS-induced cardiac injury and another for doxorubicin-induced cytotoxicity-were treated with a water-soluble antioxidant extracted from spinach leaves (NAO), contradictory effects were found.…”