ABSTRACT
Tuberculosis is the most common cause of death from an infectious agent, it is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in Africa and Nigeria. Isoniazid (INH) is one of the effective drugs used in its treatment and prevention with the inadvertent complications of oxidative stress and hepatotoxicity. The aim of the current study was to determine the antioxidant and hepatoprotective effects of Brysocarpus coccineus aqueous extracts on isoniazid induced oxidative stress and hepatotoxi cty. Adult male Wistar rats were divided into six groups of five rats each and treated orally for 30 days as follows: Group I: 1 ml/kg of distilled water; group II: Isoniazid (27 mg/kg); group III: Isoniazid (27 mg/kg) + Livolin forte (20 mg/kg); group IV: Isoniazid (27 mg/kg) + B. coccineus (200 mg/kg); group V: Isoniazid (27 mg/kg) + B. coccineus (400 mg/kg); group VI: Isoniazid (27 mg/kg) + B. coccineus (800 mg/kg). Afterwards rats were sacrificed and serum was collected for oxidative stress and hepatotoxicity biomarker assays, liver tissue was also collected for Histology. There was a significant (p≤ 0.05) increase in serum MDA levels in the group treated with isoniazid alone compared to the control, this was reversed in the groups treated with livolin forte and the extract in a dose dependent manner which was not significant (p≤ 0.05), there was also a decrease in the serum SOD and CAT in the groups treated with Isoniazid and livolin forte and all the groups treated with the extract compared to the control. There was an increase in the serum AST and ALT in the isoniazid group which was reversed by livolin forte and the aqueous extracts at a dose of 200mg/kg, however the extracts increased the serum levels of AST and ALT at higher doses this was not significant (p≤ 0.05) when compared to the controls. Serum total protein and albumin was increased in the isoniazid treated group, and decreased in the group treated with livolin forte and the extracts at 200mg/kg, it was however increased at high doses which was not significant (p≤ 0.05). The extracts caused statistically significant (p≤ 0.05) increases in the serum total and conjugated bilirubin compared to the control and livolin treated group. The liver histology revealed sinusoidal dilatation and central veins congestion in the isoniazid treated group which was not evident in the groups treated with the extract at 400 and 800 mg/kg. In conclusion, aqueous extracts of B.coccineus showed anti-oxidant and hepatoprotective effects at a low dose in isoniazid induced oxidative stress and hepatotoxicity in adult male Wistar rats.