Nigella sativa and Aloe vera protection against doxorubicin hepatotoxicity

Abstract

Doxorubicin (DOX) is a potent available antitumor agent; however, its clinical use is limited due to its significant toxicity to most tissues and organs. Administration of DOX induced acute hepatotoxicity manifested by significant elevation in serum and liver lipid peroxidation. The present study was designed to evaluate and confirm the protective effect of Nigella sativa (N.S), Aloe vera (A.V) and their mixture. A cumulative dose (30 mg/kg i.p.) of DOX divided into 6 equal doses administered over six weeks to male albino rats separate or combined with N.S, A.V or their mixture extract. At the end of the experiment, biochemical and histological parameters were assessed. Concerning oxidative stress and antioxidant defense system, the depleted hepatic glutathione content (GSH) of DOX-administered rats as well as glutathione peroxidase (GPx), catalase (CAT) and super oxide dismutase (SOD) activities were increased above normal levels as a result of pretreatment with N.S, A.V and their mixture. However, while elevated lipid peroxidation was noticed in DOX treated rats, pretreatment with N.S, A.V and their mixture produced a detectable decrease in the lipid peroxidation level. Histological measurements showed that DOX caused a marked rise multiple focal coagulative necrosis of hepatocytes associated with hemorrhage while rats pretreated with N.S, A.V and their mixture in combination with DOX showed no histopathological changes compared to normal control. From these data, it can be concluded that N.S, A.V and their mixture of extracts could be protective for the liver cells against DOX-induced hepatotoxicity due to their contents of polyphenolic compounds that might serve as novel adjuvant therapy with DOX.