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Antioxidant and anti-apoptotic potency of allicin and lycopene against methotrexate-induced cardiac injury in rats

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Abstract 

This study aimed to explore whether allicin (ALC) and lycopene (LP) could offer protection against the harmful effects of methotrexate (MTX), a type of chemotherapy drug known for its severe side effects, on the heart of rats. In this experiment, seven groups of rats (n = 7) were used. The first group was given saline as a control vehicle, the second group was given ALC at a dosage of 20 mg/kg orally, the third group was given LP at a dosage of 10 mg/kg orally, and the fourth group was given MTX at a dosage of 20 mg/kg intraperitoneally on the 15th day of the experiment. The remaining three groups received treatments, including ALC + MTX, LP + MTX, and ALC + LP + MTX. After the administration of MTX, the concentrations of serum cardiac biomarkers, such as Creatine kinase (CK), Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and creatine kinase-myoglobin binding (CK-MB) were found to increase. Also, MTX caused a notable rise in malondialdehyde (MDA) levels and significant declines in the levels of glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase (CAT) in the heart tissues of rats. In addition, MTX caused alterations in the cardiac histopathology and enhanced the caspase-3 expression in the cardiac tissues, indicating the occurrence of apoptosis. The antioxidant properties of ALC and/or LP were effectively reduced cardiac toxicity and apoptosis induced by MTX. The administration of ALC and/or LP was found to alleviate these effects caused by MTX.

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Data availability

The data presented in this study are available upon request from the first author.

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Acknowledgements

The researchers would like to acknowledge Deanship of Scientific Research, Taif University for funding this work.

Funding

Deanship of Scientific Research, Taif University, Saudi Arabia (For Mohamed Alkafafy).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Benha University, 13736 Moshtohor, Toukh, Qaliobiya, Egypt

    Mohamed Aboubakr & Mohamed Elbadawy

  2. Department of Surgery, Anesthesiology, and Radiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt

    Ahmed Farag

  3. Department of Animal Internal Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Damanhur University, Damanhur, Egypt

    Ahmed Elfadadny

  4. Department of Biotechnology, College of Science, Taif University, P.O. Box 11099, Taif, 21944, Saudi Arabia

    Mohamed Alkafafy

  5. Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Cairo University, Giza, 12211, Egypt

    Ahmed Soliman

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  1. Mohamed Aboubakr
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  2. Ahmed Farag
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  4. Mohamed Alkafafy
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Contributions

Experiment design: MA. Data collection, and statistical analysis: AS and ME. Writing and drafting: AF, AF, and MA. All authors reviewed and edited the final version.

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Correspondence to Mohamed Aboubakr.

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Faculty of Veterinary Medicine's Research Ethical Committee, Cairo University, Egypt (Vet CU 01122022619) approved the study.

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Aboubakr, M., Farag, A., Elfadadny, A. et al. Antioxidant and anti-apoptotic potency of allicin and lycopene against methotrexate-induced cardiac injury in rats. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 88724–88733 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-28686-4

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