Protective Effects of Ginger Extract against Lead Induced Hepatotoxicity in Male Albino Rats

Abstract

Ginger (Zingiber officinale) is used traditionally for many therapeutic purposes. . Oxidative stress may be the main reason behind most histological and cellular effects of lead. The aim of this study was to investigate the possible hepatoprotective role of ginger against lead acetate induced hepatotoxicity in rats. . In the present investigation, lead acetate (200 mg/kg b.wt) was given orally to male rats for eight weeks to induce hepatotoxicity. The ginger was found to contain zingerone, gingerdiol, zingibrene, gingerols and shogaols. Lead-induced oxidative stress in liver tissue was indicated by significant decreased levels of liver reduced glutathione (GSH) and superoxide dismutase (SOD). Histologically, the liver showed several histological alterations such as degeneration of hepatocytes by necrosis and apoptosis, fatty changes and inflammatory cells infiltration. Ginger-I (200 mg/kg b.wt) and Ginger-II (300 mg/kg b.wt) markedly attenuated the previous lead- induced biochemical alterations in liver tissues as well as the histological and cellular changes. From this study, it can be concluded that the Zingiber officinale showed effective hepatoprotective and antioxidative action against lead acetate-induced hepatotoxicity in rats.