Costus afer extract ameliorates paracetamol-induced tissue injury and H2O2-induced erythrocyte peroxidation

Abstract

Aim/Objective: To evaluate the effect of the methanolic extract of Costus afer stem on paracetamol-induced tissue injury in rats and its ability to reduce hydrogen peroxide-induced erythrocyte damage. Methods: Twenty rats were acclimatized for two weeks and randomized into five groups. Group I were untreated controls, while each rat in groups III - V was given a single intraperitoneal-administration of paracetamol (800 mg/kg b.w.). Prior to the administration of paracetamol, rats in groups II and IV were orally given Costus afer extract at 200 mg/kg b.w while rats in group V were given 400 mg/kg b.w. extract once daily for four days. In the other experiment, hydrogen peroxide was used to induce erythrocyte damage and subsequently incubated with the extract at different concentrations. Markers for tissue and erythrocyte damage were assessed in serum, tissue homogenates and erythrocytes. Results: Paracetamol caused marked elevations (p < 0.05) in the levels of alanine aminotransaminase, aspartate aminotransaminase, alkaline phosphatas, urea, creatinine in serum. The levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive species (TBARS) in both liver and kidney were also raised over control (p < 0.05) while the activities of superoxide dismutase and catalase were reduced over untreated controls (p < 0.05) Pre-treatment of rats with Costus afer extract (p.o.) caused significant reduction of the markers closer to control values (p < 0.05). Apart from TBARS and catalase in liver kidney respectively, rats pre-treated with 400 mg/kg b.w. extract showed greater alterations in the levels of the markers. The extract also reduced hydrogen peroxide-induced erythrocyte damage assessed as haemolysis and lipid peroxidation which was concentration-dependent (p < 0.05). Conclusion: This indicated that Costus afer possesses the ability to protect the various tissues against injury which is implicated in some diseases. Implications are discussed.