Chenopodium ambrosioides var. ambrosioides leaf extracts possess regenerative and ameliorative effects against mercury-induced hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity

Abstract

Empirical literature reveals the use of Chenopodium ambrosioides var. ambrosioides leaf extract as antipyretic, antimicrobial, antioxidant, cancer chemoprotective, and antidiabetic agent in folklore medicine – with these pharmacological properties linked to its secondary metabolites. There are, however, no adequate information on the possible protective, regenerative, and ameliorative effects on toxicity induced by heavy metals. Hence, the investigations on mercury-induced nephrotoxicity and hepatotoxicity in this study. The leaf extract was profiled using gas chromatographic instrument coupled with mass spectrometer (GC–MS) and revealed 100 metabolites ranging from polyphenols, terpenes, terpenoids, and cardiac glycosides. The antioxidant assays revealed that C. ambrosioides leaf extracts possess antioxidant properties with hexane fraction exhibiting the highest scavenging activities for DPPH (IC50 = 0.02 mg/mL), FRAP (730.92 mg/AAE g), and metal ion chelating ability (IC50 = 3.18 mg/mL). Nephrotoxicity and hepatotoxicity biomarkers using total protein, albumin, total bilirubin, direct bilirubin, catalase, glutathione peroxidase (GPx), reduced glutathione (GSH), creatinine, uric acid, urea, ALT, and AST activities both in the kidney and liver homogenates of Wistar rats revealed significant regenerative improvement which differs significantly at p < 0.05 when compared with experimental rats with toxicant only. In the same vein, the histomorphological analysis showed remarkable hepatocellular regeneration presenting features of normal architectural arrangements of hepatic tissues while acute toxicological studies revealed that the LD50 of C. ambrosioides leaf material is well above 5000 mg/kg. The outcomes of this study showed that the leaf extract exhibited high hepatoprotective and nephroprotective activities as well as being implicated in the discovery of safe, cheaper, and effective therapeutic agents thereby highlighting its importance as a promising industrial crop.