Protective effect of chitosan treatment against acetaminophen-induced hepatotoxicity.
Acetaminophen (APAP) is the most commonly reported toxic ingestion in the world. Severe liver injury resulting from overdose or chronic use of APAP remains a significant clinical problem. In recent years, the mechanisms underlying liver injury caused by APAP have become much better understood. We have studied the protective effect of chitosan supplementation against APAP-induced hepatotoxicity with respect to changes in the levels of total and lipid-bound sialic acid in the serum and in the liver tissue and changes in the activity of diagnostic marker enzymes, lipid peroxidation, and ceruloplasmin oxidase enzyme in normal and experimental groups of rats. During the experimental period, chitosan (200 mg/kg body weight per day) was administered to APAP + chitosan-treated rats by oral gavage. Results showed that treatment with APAP induced a significant increase in the serum alanine aminotransferase and alkaline phosphatase activities, in total and lipid-bound sialic acids levels, and in the liver lipid peroxide content. The administration of chitosan significantly prevented APAP-induced alterations in the levels of diagnostic marker enzymes, total sialic acid, lipid-bound sialic acid, and malondialdehyde in the experimental groups of rats. Furthermore, chitosan administration increased the activity of ceruloplasmin oxidase. In conclusion, our results suggest that chitosan has a protective effect on APAP-induced hepatic injury in rats. The study sheds light on the therapeutic potential of chitosan in an APAP-induced hepatotoxicity model.
Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, School of Healthy Sciences, Artvin Coruh University, Artvin, Turkey. Electronic address: eda_ozcelik@yahoo.com.
Eda
E
Ozcelik
Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Eskisehir Osmangazi University, Eskişehir, Turkey.
Sema
S
Uslu
Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Eskisehir Osmangazi University, Eskişehir, Turkey.
Nilufer
N
Erkasap
Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Eskisehir Osmangazi University, Eskişehir, Turkey.
Hadi
H
Karimi
D000082:Acetaminophen / Q000009:adverse effects*; D000818:Animals; D056486:Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000201:enzymology; D048271:Chitosan / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D020011:Protective Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
D020011:Protective Agents; D000082:Acetaminophen; D048271:Chitosan
Acetaminophen; Chitosan; Hepatotoxicity; Sialic acid