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Evaluation of Potassium Dichromate (K2Cr2O7)-Induced Liver Oxidative Stress and Ameliorative Effect of Picrorhiza kurroa Extract in Wistar Albino Rats

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Abstract

The aim of the study was to assess the protective effect of Picrorhiza kurroa hydroalcoholic extract (PCK), a glycoside-rich extract, against potassium dichromate (PDC)-induced liver oxidative stress in Wistar albino rats. Thirty-six male Wistar rats were divided into six groups: the control group (which received distilled water), the SIL group (which received 60 mg/kg silymarin), the PDC group (which received 30 mg/kg K2Cr2O7), and the treatment groups (which received 25, 50, 100 mg/kg PCK). Administration of PDC resulted in increased levels of liver enzymes such as alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP); up-regulated peroxidation biomarkers, i.e., thiobarbutric acid-reactive species (TBARS) and protein carbonyls in serum; and decreased activities of antioxidant enzymes like superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) significantly in the liver tissue. Gene expression studies of tumor necrosis factor (TNF), mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), growth arrest, and DNA damage-inducible protein (GADD45) revealed that there was a liver damage at the molecular level, and histopathological studies further confirmed the morphological changes by PDC administration. However, PCKs at 50 and 100 mg/kg promoted significant restoration of liver enzyme levels and the activities of antioxidant enzymes were kept close to the values of the control and SIL groups. Our current study confirms that the active compounds present in the PCK might have conferred a strong protection against potassium dichromate-induced oxidative stress.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Defense Food Research Laboratory, Mysore.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Applied Nutrition Division, Defence Food Research Laboratory, DRDO, Siddhartha Nagar, Mysore, 570011, India

    Navya K, Phani Kumar G, Chandrasekhar Y & Anilakumar KR

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Contributions

KN and CSY conducted the experiments and collected and analyzed the data. PKG and KRA helped in designing and discussing the study and writing the manuscript. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Phani Kumar G.

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Animal studies were conducted according to the Institute Animal Ethical Committee (IAEC) regulations approved by the Committee for the Purpose of the Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals (CPCSEA) with the IAEC approval no. IAEC-2016/AN/12 dated 25 October 2016.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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K, N., G, P., Y, C. et al. Evaluation of Potassium Dichromate (K2Cr2O7)-Induced Liver Oxidative Stress and Ameliorative Effect of Picrorhiza kurroa Extract in Wistar Albino Rats. Biol Trace Elem Res 184, 154–164 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-017-1172-2

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