Effect of Lipoic acid against Sodium nitrite toxicity in rats

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of alpha lipoic acid (α-LA) on hepatotoxicity induced by sodium nitrite (NaNO) and other biochemical functions of liver and kidney in male albino rats; moreover the microscopical examination for liver was studied. Forty-eight male albino rats were divided into 6 groups of 8 animals each. Group (1) fed on balanced diet, served as the control. Group (2) fed on balanced diet plus NaNO at 100mg/kg diet to induce toxicity. The other four groups fed on balanced diet plus NaNO at 100mg/kg diet and supplemented by different doses of α-LA at 100, 200, 300 and 400mg/kg diet, respectively for one month. The results showed a significant increase in enzyme activities such as alanine amino transferase (ALT), aspartate amino transferase (AST) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP), as well as total and direct bilirubin levels were increased by 339.79%, 302.44%, 23.75% and (175% &185.71%), respectively in group of rats fed on NaNO, while albumin showed a significant decrease in its level by -24.86% compared to the control group at P ≤ 0.05. Kidney functions results showed a significant increase in serum urea and creatinine concentrations by 74.78%, 34.66%, respectively. Administration of NaNO caused a significant increase in oxidative stress as nitric oxide (NO) and malondialdhyde (MDA) levels by 71.48%, 163.77% respectively, while the activities of glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and catalase (CAT) were decreased significantly by -52.99%, -43.23% respectively. And it caused markered changes in the overall microscopical examination of liver which could be due to the toxic effect of NaNO. Also, the results of this study suggested that, supplementation of α-LA caused a significant improvement in all results in comparison with group administrated NaNO by a significant decrease in oxidative biomarkers and significant improvement in antioxidants levels and enhanced the tissue liver damage, as well as reduction inflammatory reaction in compared with control group. The most significant improvement appears in group of rats fed on 400mg/kg diet of α-LA. Thus, its administration decreases the deleterious effects of nitrites on the body cells.