Investigating the Protective Role of Vitamin D Supplementation on Cyclophosphamide-Induced Liver Enzyme Alterations in Adult Male Rats

Abstract Cyclophosphamide is known to cause liver dysfunction. This study investigated the protective role of vitamin D supplementation against cyclophosphamide -induced liver dysfunction in adult male rats. The rats receiving cyclophosphamide were treated with vitamin D at doses of 1,000 and 3,000 IU/kg. At the end of the study period, biochemical and histopathological evaluations were conducted after the animals were sacrificed. The levels of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, lactate dehydrogenase, nitric oxide, and bilirubin were significantly elevated in the cyclophosphamide group compared to the control group (p<0.001). Conversely, these levels were significantly decreased in the vitamin D treatment groups (p<0.01). Additionally, the activities of the catalase and glutathione peroxidase were significantly lower in the cyclophosphamide group than in controls (p<0.01), while they increased significantly in the vitamin D groups (p<0.001). According to a semi-quantitative scoring system, the highest scores for pathological lesions were observed in the cyclophosphamide group, with lower scores in the vitamin D groups. The differences between the cyclophosphamide group and both treated groups were statistically significant (p<0.05). These results indicate that vitamin D, through its antioxidant properties, positively influenced liver enzyme levels altered by cyclophosphamide.