Pesticides have been associated with oxidative stress and enhanced reactive oxygen species generation (chlorpyrifos). This study aimed to determine whether extracted damiana (Turnera diffusa Willd) may effectively prevent chlorpyrifos-induced toxicity in male rats. Thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) plasma levels have been measured in chlorpyrifos-intoxicated animals to quantitatively evaluate lipid peroxidation, and these measurements have shown a marked increase in the plasma levels of these animals. However, rats given damiana alone experienced a decrease in lipid peroxidation and an increase in the majority of the measured parameters. Furthermore, damiana pretreatment of chlorpyrifos-intoxicated rats significantly decreased (lipid peroxidation) in comparison to the control group. While plasma total protein (TP), albumin (A), urea, acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity, antioxidant enzymes activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione S-transferase (GST), catalase (CAT), as well as glutathione content (GSH), fell significantly. The plasma levels of total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-c), and triglycerides (TG) examined were considerably more significant in the rats exposed to chlorpyrifos than in the control group, although the level of high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-c) was lower. So according to our findings, chlorpyrifos pesticide caused renal and hepatic disorders via oxidative stress causing biochemical alterations. Otherwise, damiana showed a possible protective effect against chlorpyrifos-induced toxicity which may be attributed to the antioxidant properties of its polyphenolic compounds and its capacity to scavenge active free radicals.
Keywords: Chlorpyrifos, damiana (Turnera diffusa Willd), oxidative stress, male albino rats