Effects of pharmaceutical formulations containing thyme on carbon tetrachloride-induced liver injury in rats

Abstract

BackgroundHerbal supplements are widely used in the treatment of various liver disases, but some of them may also induce liver injuries. Regarding the infuence of thyme and its constituents on the liver, conflicting results have been reported in the literature. The objective of this study was to examine the influence of two commonly used pharmaceutical formulations containing thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.), tincture and syrup, on carbon tetrachloride-induced acute liver injury in rats.MethodsChemical composition of investigated formulations of thyme was determined by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. Activities of enzyme markers of hepatocellular damage in serum and antioxidant enzymes in the liver homogenates were measured using the kinetic spectrophotometric methods. Liver morphology was characterized by light microscopy using routine hematoxylin and eosin staining.ResultsThymol was found to be predominant active constituent in both tincture and syrup. Investigated thyme preparations exerted antioxidant effects in liver by preventing carbon tetrachloride-induced increase of lipid peroxidation. Furthermore, co-treatment with thyme preparations reversed the activities of oxidative stress-related enzymes xanthine oxidase, catalase, peroxidase, glutathione peroxidase and glutathione reductase, towards normal values in the liver. Hepatotoxicity induced by carbon tetrachloride was reflected by a marked elevation of AST and ALT activities, and histopathologic alterations. Co-administration of thyme tincture resulted in unexpected exacerbation of AST and ALT values in serum, while thyme syrup managed to reduce activites of aminotransferases, in comparison to carbon tetrachloride-treated animals.ConclusionsDespite demonstrated antioxidant activity, mediated through both direct free radical scavenging and activation of antioxidant defense mechanisms, thyme preparations could not ameliorate liver injury in rats. Molecular mechanisms of diverse effects of thyme preparations on chemical-induced hepatotoxicity should be more in-depth investigated.

Hepatoprotective and antioxidant potential of Pycnogenol® in acetaminophen‐induced hepatotoxicity in rats

“…This is also in good correlation with already published study (Ko et al, 2014), which showed significant decrease in a dosedependent manner in the cisplatin and PYC groups, compared with GPx level in septic rats (Taner et al, 2014). However, our result is comparable with similar studies (Rašković et al, 2015) where it was confirmed that APAP induced increase of GPx activity. Actually, under oxidative stress condition, upregulation of GPx can occur as an adaptive response of hepatocytes to oxidative damage, when GSH is largely consumed, which is in agreement with the results of our research (Rašković et al, 2017).…”

Effects of Thymus daenensis on inflammatory factors and liver toxicity induced by thioacetamide in rats

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Phytocomponents from Anacardium occidentale, Psidium guajava, and Terminalia catappa altered membrane osmotic stability of sickle erythrocytes

“…The identification, quantification, and characterization of phytocomponents from fractionated leaf extracts of A. occidentale, P. guajava, and T. catappa were carried out using standard chromatographic-spectrophotometric protocols, viz. GC-MS systems {Agilent 7890A GC system set up with 5975C VL MSD, Agilent Technologies, Inc., Santa Clara, CA, USA; The MS system was accomplished in Electron Ionization (EI) mode with Selected Ion Monitoring (SIM)}as well as FT-IR and UV-visible instruments (PerkinElmer Spectrophotometer, USA) according to the methods previously described [48,54,55]. The capillary column specification of the GC system was DB-5MS (30 m × 0.25 mm, film thickness of 0.25 μm) with a temperature program set as follows: initial temperature 50°C held for 1.00 min, 5°C per min to 100°C, 9°C per min to 200°C held for 7.89 min, and the total run time was 30 min.…”

“…Spectrometric methods, viz. Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-visible) complement gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) protocols in terms of providing comprehensive insights into the molecular characteristics and quantification of phytocomponents from plant materials [21,[45][46][47][48][49].…”