Paracetamol and Hydrogen peroxide-induced tissue alterations are reduced by Costus afer extract

Abstract

Aim/Objective: To evaluate the effect of the methanolic extract of Costus afer stem on paracetamol-induced tissue injury in rats (in-vivo) and its ability to reduce hydrogen peroxide-induced erythrocyte damage (in-vitro). Methods: Twenty-five 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 (after isolating erythrocytes from whole blood) 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 (ALT), aspartate aminotransaminase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), urea and 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 (SOD) and catalase were reduced over untreated controls (p < 0.05). Pre-treatment of rats with Costus afer extract (p.o.) caused significant reduction in serum levels of ALT, AST, ALP, urea, creatinine and tissue TBARS closer to control values (p < 0.05). Pre-treatment of the rats with the plant extract also increased the activities of SOD and catalase in both liver and kidney. Apart from the levels of TBARS in liver and catalase in kidney, rats pre-treated with 400 mg/kg b.w. extract showed greater response than pre-treatment with 200 mg/kg b.w. 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 chemical-induced injury.