Background: Acetaminophen (Paracetamol; PCM), commonly utilized as analgesic and antipyretic drug in many painful and febrile disorders, has been found to induce liver and renal disorders in both animals and humans. Its administration in a high dose causes hepatic and renal toxicities and results in hepato-renal cell deaths by activating multiple stress pathways. Objective: This study aimed to investigate and compare effects of Sidr honey (SH), Nigella sativa oil (NS) and their combination on the paracetamol (PCM)-induced hepato-renal toxicities in rats.
Methods: Forty male adult albino rats were divided into five groups and treated for 4 weeks (n= 8 each): (1) the control group; receiving distilled water orally, (2) PCM-treated; receiving single high dose PCM (SHDP) of 1 g/kg once orally, (3) NS- and PCM-treated (NS/P); receiving NS in the dose of 2 ml/kg/day orally, and at the end of NS-treatment, the same single PCM dose is given, (4) SH- and PCM-treated (H/P); receiving SH in the dose of 1 g/kg/day, and at the end of SH-treatment, the same PCM dose is given, (5) SH-, NS- & PCM-treated (H&NS/P) group; receiving SH and NS orally in the same doses, and at the end of treatments, the same PCM dose is given. Serum alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine, total antioxidative capacity (TAC) and Fas ligand (Fas L), and liver tissue TAC were measured after sacrificing the rats at the end of experiment.
Results: Compared to control group, the SHDP-treated rats developed significant increases in serum ALT, AST, BUN, Creatinine and Fas l, and decreases in serum and liver tissue TAC. SH, NS or more effectively the combined H/NS/P treatments produced significant decreases in serum ALT, AST, BUN, Creatinine and Fas l, and increases in serum and liver tissue TAC when compared with SHDP-treated rats. Conclusion: These findings suggested that oral combined SH and NS administration is more protective against PCM-induced hepato-renal toxicity in rats than using each of them alone. The collective data demonstrated that SH and NS have considerable ability to protect against oxidation, apoptosis, and other harmful effects of PCM in rats.