INTRODUCTION: Tamoxifen is one of the ideal drugs in treatment of breast cancer however it has
genotoxic and cytotoxic activity on the liver via producing reactive oxygen species.
AIM: To investigate the injurious effect of tamoxifen on liver of the adult female albino rats and to find
out the possible protective effect of Black Seed and/or Vitamin C against this hepatic injury.
METHODS: Thirty adult female albino rats were randomly divided into 5 groups;control, tamoxifen,
tamoxifen + blackseed, tamoxifen +vitamin C and tamoxifen +blackseed and vitamin C treated groups.
On the 22nd day after tamoxifen administrationthe rats were sacrificed; the livers wereprocessed for
measurement of MDA &SOD and for light and electron microscopic examination.
RESULTS: Co-administration of black seed and/or vitamin C with tamoxifen caused significant decrease
in the elevated serum GPT and GOT and the liver tissue MDA and increase in the decreased liver tissue
SOD when compared with tamoxifen group. By Light microscopic examination, tamoxifen has been
found to cause several liver changes in the form of hepatocyte degeneration and necrosis, inflammatory
cell infiltration, dilated sinusoids with hypertrophy of Kupffer cells, collagen deposition and nuclear
changes as chromatin clumping and trizomy. Electron microscopic examination of tamoxifen group
revealed nuclear changes, dilated vesicular rER, secondary lysosomes, swollen mitochondria and lipid
droplets. Administration of black seed and/or vitamin C with tamoxifen reduced the hepatic pathological
changes.
CONCLUSION: Combination of both black seed and vitamin C might have synergistic hepato-protective
effect.