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Protective effect of vitamin E against plumbagin-induced liver injury and oxidative stress: biochemical, redox, and mitochondrial permeability changes

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Abstract

Plumbagin is a plant-based naphthoquinone with anti-cancer activity. However, its side effects have limited its pharmacological significance. This study examined the effect of treatment of vitamin E on plumbagin-induced hepatic and mitochondrial injury in mice. Mitochondrial permeability transition (mPT), mitochondrial ATPase (mATPase) activity, mitochondrial lipid peroxidation (mLPO), and DNA fragmentation were determined spectrophotometrically according to standard procedures. Histological and biochemical assays were also carried out. Treatment with plumbagin induced significant opening of the mPT pore and enhanced mATPase activity and mLPO. In addition, plumbagin-treated mice showed pathological lesions in liver sections. Conversely, the two ameliorative regimens, pre- and co-treatment vitamin E groups, significantly reversed levels of liver transaminase enzymes and improved the morphological architectures of the livers of plumbagin-treated mice. Besides, plumbagin-induced mPT pore opening, ATPase activity, and percentage DNA fragmentation were significantly reversed by vitamin E. Administration of vitamin E also significantly restored the levels of the total thiol (TSH), glutathione (GSH), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity while lipid peroxide generation was attenuated. Taken together, the protective effect of vitamin E on plumbagin-induced liver toxicity and cell death is due to oxidative stress attenuation, improvement in antioxidant status, and amelioration of mitochondrial dysfunction.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratories for Biomembrane Research and Biotechnology, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria

    Olubukola T. Oyebode, Isaac J. Bello, Hammed Faleke, Joy Danisa & Olufunso O. Olorunsogo

  2. College of Science & Engineering, University of Derby, Kedleston Road, Derby, DE22 1GB, UK

    Olubukola T. Oyebode

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  1. Olubukola T. Oyebode
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  2. Isaac J. Bello
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Correspondence to Olubukola T. Oyebode.

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ARRIVE guidelines were strictly followed and all experimental procedures were conducted according to the University of Ibadan Animal Care and Use Research Ethics Committee (ACUREC) with approval number-UI-ACUREC/2065100 which conformed to that of NIH and was strictly adhered to.

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Oyebode, O.T., Bello, I.J., Faleke, H. et al. Protective effect of vitamin E against plumbagin-induced liver injury and oxidative stress: biochemical, redox, and mitochondrial permeability changes. Comp Clin Pathol 32, 311–320 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00580-023-03441-w

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