Nehal Afifi
Head of Pharmacology Department Cairo University Egypt
Biography:
Professor Nehal Afifi has worked at Pharmacology Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Cairo University from 1997 till now and Head of Pharmacology Department from 2009 to till now Associate Professor of Pharmacology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Cairo University, 1992. Lecturer, of Pharmacology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, 1987. Assistant Lecturer of Pharmacology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, 1985. Demonstrator at Pharmacology Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, 1981. She is a member of American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET) and member of the scientific committee for Veterinary Drugs Registration, Ministry of Health, Central Administration for Pharmaceutical Affairs.
Abstract:
Despite all the studies performed to date, therapy choices for liver injuries are very few. Therefore, the search for a novel drug that could safely and effectively treat liver injuries remains a challenge. The current study aimed at evaluating the potential hepatoprotective influence of Ellagic acid (EA) and silymarin as a reference drug against thioacetamide (TAA)-induced liver toxicity for rats. Methodology : Mature Albino Wister rats were orally daily treated with EA (50 and 100 mg/kg, PO), silymarin ((50 mg/kg, PO) for 21consecutive days, then were injected ip with TAA (300 mg/Kg, i.p.) twice with 24hours interval in the last two days of the experiment to induce hepatotoxicity. Blood samples wear withdrawn from all rats, liver tissue isolated and sera separated for serum liver function tests. Liver homogenates were used for assessment of oxidative stress biomarkers, inflammatory cytokines, hepatocellular apoptosis and histopathological examinations. Hepatic DNA fragmentation levels were examined calorimetrically by diphenylamine and electrophoreticaly by electrophoresis. Results of the present study revealed that oral administration of EA (50 and 100 mg/kg) for 21 days significantly improved the elevated liver enzymes (AST and ALT), alkaline phosphatase and total bilirubin with significant decreased oxidative stress biomarkers measured as malondialdehyde (MDA) , nitric oxide (NO) and reduced glutathione (GSH) levels in liver homogenate. In addition, EA decrease the elevated inflammatory cytokine; α-tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α), ẞ- nuclear factor kappa (NF-κ B) and DNA fragmentation. in a dose dependant manner. Conclusion & Significance: In this study EA is proved to has a hepatoprotective effect via mechanisms involving the attenuation of oxidative stress, antioxidant potential, and alleviation of inflammation and inhibition of hepatocellular apoptosis