Basic Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2017. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Hepatol. Feb 8, 2017; 9(4): 209-216
Published online Feb 8, 2017. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v9.i4.209
Antioxidant effects of aqueous extract of Salep on Paraquat-induced rat liver injury
Shekoufeh Atashpour, Hossein Kargar Jahromi, Zahra Kargar Jahromi, Sanaz Zarei
Shekoufeh Atashpour, 2nd Department of Pharmacology, Jahrom University of Medical Sciences, Jahrom 7414846192, Iran
Shekoufeh Atashpour, Hossein Kargar Jahromi, Research Center for Non-Communicable Disease, Jahrom University of Medical Sciences, Jahrom 7414846192, Iran
Hossein Kargar Jahromi, 2nd Zoonoses Research Center, Jahrom University of Medical Sciences, Jahrom 7414846192, Iran
Zahra Kargar Jahromi, Zoonoses Research Center, Jahrom University of Medical Sciences, Jahrom 7414846192, Iran
Sanaz Zarei, Student Research Committee, Jahrom University of Medical Sciences, Jahrom 7414846192, Iran
Author contributions: Atashpour S designed the study and wrote the paper; Kargar Jahromi H designed and performed the study; Kargar Jahromi Z performed the study; all authors drafted the article and made critical revisions related to the intellectual content of the manuscript, and approved the final version of the article to be published.
Supported by The results described in this article are part of a Medical student, Sanaz Zarei’s dissertation that was financially supported by Jahrom University of Medical Sciences, Jahrom, Iran.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved by Research Center for Non-Communicable Diseases, Jahrom University of Medical Sciences, Jahrom, Iran.
Institutional animal care and use committee statement: All procedures involving animals were reviewed and approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of the (Jahrom University of Medical Sciences) (IACUC Protocol Number: IR.JUMS.1394.722).
Conflict-of-interest statement: To the best of our knowledge, no conflict of interest exists.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Hossein Kargar Jahromi, PhD, Research Center for Non-Communicable Diseases, Jahrom University of Medical Sciences, Shahid Motahari Street, Jahrom 7414846192, Iran. hossein.kargarjahromy@yahoo.com
Telephone: +98-71-54340405 Fax: +98-71-54340405
Received: July 21, 2016
Peer-review started: July 22, 2016
First decision: September 5, 2016
Revised: November 6, 2016
Accepted: December 13, 2016
Article in press: December 14, 2016
Published online: February 8, 2017
Abstract
AIM

To evaluate the effects of aqueous extract of Salep on Paraquat-mediated liver injury.

METHODS

In this experimental study, 56 adult male Wistar rats were divided randomly to 7 groups as control, sham, and 5 experimental groups. In control group, rats did not receive any substance during experiment. In Sham group, rats were given distilled water according to their body weight and in experimental groups, Paraquat alone and with different doses of Salep aqueous extract (40, 80, 160 and 320 mg/kg) was given intraperitoneal daily for 14 d. After that, liver biochemical parameter and histologic changes were analyzed and compared in different groups.

RESULTS

Paraquat compared to control and sham groups, significantly (P < 0.05) increased serum level of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), bilirubin, malondialdehyde (MDA) and total oxidant capacity (TOC); while level of total protein, albumin and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) were remarkably decreased by Paraquat. Salep at doses of 80, 160 and 320 mg/kg significantly decreased serum level of ALT, AST, ALP, bilirubin, MDA and TOC and significantly increased total protein, albumin and TAC level as compared to Paraquat exposed group in dose dependent manner. Aqueous extract of Salep at doses of 40 mg/kg made no significant changes in serum level of mentioned biochemical parameters. Liver microscopic observation revealed that Paraquat could cause hepatocyte necrosis, degenerative changes, proliferation and activation of Kupffer cells (sporadically) which were reduced by Salep treatment.

CONCLUSION

Salep possesses remarkable hepatoprotection activity against Paraquat-induced hepatic injury by having antioxidant activity and reducing lipid peroxidation and oxidative stress.

Keywords: Salep, Paraquat, Liver injury, Antioxidant, Oxidative stress

Core tip: Oxidative stress has a key role in triggering Paraquat-mediated liver injury. Paraquat causes oxidative stress via modulation of redox cycling, generation of free radicals and reduction of endogenous antioxidant levels. Salep from orchid family (Orchidaceae) used in traditional medicine as a healing agent in the treatment of breast disorders, gastrointestinal disorders, tuberculosis, diarrhea, Parkinson, cancer, fever, and impotency. Salep is used in food engineering for preparation of ice cream and drinks. This study showed that Salep could have a protective effect against Paraquat-induced hepatic injury via reinforcing endogenous antioxidant systems, reduction of lipid peroxidation and free radical scavenging. The antioxidant and protective effect of Salep could be due to presence of flavonoids and polyphenols such as Quercetin, Ferulic Acid and Glucomannan.