Abstract
Hepatitis is one of earlier, but serious, signs of liver damage. High doses of statins for a long time can induce hepatitis. This study aimed to evaluate and compare the therapeutic potential of thymoquinone (TQ) and bee pollen (BP) on fluvastatin (F)-induced hepatitis in rats. Rats were randomly divided into: group 1 (G1, control), G2 (F, hepatitis), G3 (F + TQ), G4 (F + BP), and G5 (F + TQ + BP). Single treatment with TQ or BP relieved fluvastatin-induced hepatitis, with best effect for the combined therapy. TQ and/or BP treatment significantly (1) reduced serum levels of alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, gamma glutamyl transpeptidase, and total bilirubin, (2) decreased malondialdehyde levels and increased level of reduced glutathione, and activities of glutathione peroxidase and catalase in the liver, (3) improved liver histology with mild deposition of type I collagen, (4) increased mRNA levels of transforming growth factor beta 1, nuclear factor Kappa B, and cyclooxygenase 1 and 2, and (5) decreased tumor necrosis factor alpha and upregulated interleukin 10 protein in the liver. These data clearly highlight the ability of TQ and BP combined therapy to cause better ameliorative effects on fluvastatin-induced hepatitis than individual treatment by each alone.
Highlights
Hepatitis is one of earlier, but serious, signs of liver damage
bee pollen (BP)-treated group showed less improvement in these parameters, but still significantly different from the hepatitis group. These findings indicate that treatment with TQ and/or BP could ameliorate fluvastatin-induced liver damage with best effect for the co-treated group followed by TQ and BP group
Our results showed that TQ and/or BP treatment could ameliorate hepatitis induced by fluvastatin and restored liver function
Summary
Hepatitis is one of earlier, but serious, signs of liver damage. High doses of statins for a long time can induce hepatitis. Alternative therapeutic strategies using natural products have been traditionally utilized in the treatment of liver damage and c ancer[9,10,11,12,13] Among these medicinal natural products, Nigella sativa and its main phytochemical component thymoquinone (TQ) have several health beneficial properties, such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immune-stimulant, anti-bacterial, hypoglycemic, and anti-arthritic a ctivities[14,15,16,17,18]. The exact ingredients of BP differ based on Scientific Reports | (2021) 11:15688
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