J Forensic Sci Toxicol | Volume 2, Issue 1 | Research Article | Open Access
Igwe CU*, Nwaogu LA, Olunkwa EU, Otaba MA and Nwachukwu N
Department of Biochemistry, Federal University of Technology, Nigeria
Fulltext PDFThe protective effect of aqueous leaf extracts of Euphorbia heterophylla and Jatropha curcas against paracetamol-induced acute changes in kidney, heart and liver organ function parameters of albino rats were studied. Twenty-five adult male albino rats (180 - 200g) were randomly distributed into 5 groups (I to V) of five animals each. Groups I and II were administered 10 ml of distilled water and 1000 mg of paracetamol per kg body weight respectively. Groups III to V were pretreated with vitamin C (500 mg/kg body weight), E. heterophylla (200 mg/kg body weight) and J. curcas (1000 mg/kg body weight) respectively 1 h before administration of 1000 mg of paracetamol/kg body weight. Single doses of the drugs/extracts were orally administered daily for 14 days. Administration of paracetamol significantly (p<0.05) increased the serum activities of LDH, AST, ALT and ALP as well as the concentrations of bilirubin, urea, creatinine and electrolytes but reduced serum total protein and albumin concentrations of the intoxicated animals in comparison with the control. Treatment of the paracetamol-intoxicated animals with vitamin C and plant extracts significantly (p<0.05) countered the observed alterations, with vitamin C and J. curcas having more protective effects than E. heterophylla. However, treatment with vitamin C and the plant extracts did not significantly (p>0.05) protect the animals from overall loss in body weight elicited by acute paracetamol overdose. The results indicate that aqueous leaf extracts of E. heterophylla and J. curcas have significant protective effect against paracetamol-induced alterations to renal, cardiac and hepatic organ functions.
Acetaminophen; Drug overdose; Organ function; Medicinal plants; Vitamin C
gwe CU, Nwaogu LA, Olunkwa EU, Otaba MA, Nwachukwu N. Multi-Organ Protective Effect of Aqueous Leaf Extracts of Euphorbia heterophylla and Jatropha curcas against Paracetamol-Induced Toxicity in Albino Rats. J Forensic Sci Toxicol. 2019;2(1):1007 .