In‐vivo evaluation of ethanolic seed extract of Walnut ( Tetracarpidium Conophorum ) on N‐acetyl‐ 1,4‐benzoquinone imine‐induced oxidative stress in albino rats

This study evaluated the liver integrity and antioxidant effects of ethanolic seed extract of Walnut ( Tetracarpidium Conophorum) on paracetamol (PCM) induced hepatotoxicity via its reactive intermediate metabolite N‐acetyl‐1,4‐benzoquinone imine (NAPQI) in albino rats. PCM is an over the counter drug and commonly abused. Overdose of NAPQI causes oxidative stress to the liver and other tissues as the endogenous enzymes will not be able to handle the toxicity. Tetracarpidium conophorum (TC) nutritionally contains a lot of vitamins C and E. The rats were divided into five groups of five rats each. (Gp1: n‐saline, Gp2: PCM alone, Gp3: PCM + 250mg/kg Extr., Gp4: PCM +500mg/kg Extr. and Gp5: PCM + 750mg/kg Extr.) All the animals were starved for 24hrs before the administration of PCM to groups 2 – 5. After 48hrs, Gps 3 – 5 were given 250, 500 and 750mg/kg of TC extract respectively for 7 days and then the animals were sacrificed. The levels of the transaminase enzymes were used to assess the intergrity of the liver. The antioxidant status in the liver was determined by measuring the activity of Glutathione (GSH), Superoxide dismutase (SOD) and Catalase (CAT). The oral treatment of rats with different doses of the extract showed significant (P≤ 0.05) hepatoprotective activity against NAPQI induced hepatotoxicity by decreasing the activities of transaminases (U/L) (ALT from 53.00 ± 2.10 – 31.40 ± 1.33, AST from 127.20 ± 1.16 – 106.00 ± 2.21, ALP 67.80 ± 0.86 – 57.60 ± 0.93), Total Cholesterol from 87.40 ± 0.61 – 67.68 ± 1.27, Total Bilirubin (g/dl) from 1.50 ± 0.05 – 1.24 ± 0.08 and significantly (P≤ 0.05) increasing the liver homogenate (U/L) of GSH from 28.80 ± 0.73 – 35.80 ±.86, CAT from 17.80 ± 0.28 – 18.5 ± 0.16 and SOD from 15.80 ± 0.37 – 19.60 ± 0.68 activities compared with the negative control. These findings showed that the walnut seed may have cytoprotective and antioxidant properties. This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal .