Protective Effect of Thymoquinone Coated Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Against Aflatoxin B1 Induced Hepatotoxicity in Albino Rats

Herbal Aflatoxins are a group of mycotoxins which can cause hepatotoxicity and can eventually lead to liver cancer. The current study was designed to check the hepatoprotective effect of thymoquinone coated zinc oxide nanoparticles against aflatoxin induced hepatotoxicity in albino rats. Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) was produced by solid state fermentation on rice using Aspergillus flavus and quantified by HPLC. TQ-coated ZnONPs were prepared by the conjugation of thymoquinone with ZnONPs and characterized by UV-Visible spectrophotometer,and Zeta potential analysis. The albino rats were fed with different diets by dividing them into five groups i.e., group A (normal diet), group B (20 ppb AFB1), group C (20 ppb AFB1 and 25 ppb ZnONPs), group D (20 ppb AFB1 and 10 ppb TQ) and group E (20 ppb AFB1 and 25 ppb TQ-ZnONPs). Blood sample and liver tissues were taken for histopathological study. Histopathological examination of liver revealed that AFB1 causes swelling, focal necrosis and decreased sinusoidal spacing. Biochemical tests like ALT (116 U/L) and AST (109 U/L) were significantly raised while there was decline in level of glucose, cholesterol, HDL and TG by AFB1. Liver function enzymes ALT (28 U/L) and AST (35 U/L) were significantly improved by treatment of TQ-ZnONPs. These changes caused by AFB1 were ameliorated by TQ-ZnONPs. It was concluded that the combined effect of TQ and ZnONPs is an effective approach towards the lethal hepatotoxic effects caused by aflatoxins present in animal feed.