Shingadia Hitesh U
Anti-neoplastic agents used in chemotherapy for cancer are observed to cause deleterious adverse effects. In present study Adriamycin administration resulted in developmental deformities showing teratogenic effects on the developing chick embryos in dose verses time dependent manner. The treated group of chick embryos showed decrease in the weight vis-à-vis reduction in the volume of amniotic fluid probably due to reduced transport of albumin; oxidative stress caused by generation of free radicals, disturbed ionic channels and/or inactivation of signal transduction pathways. Thus liver acting as a major sink for detoxification of harmful metabolites gets damaged, leaking its contents that diffuse through vascular tissues raising levels of marker enzymes like AST, ALT, ALP and LDH in amniotic fluid when compared with control group of chick embryos (p≤0.05). However levels of marker enzymes were radically reduced (p≤0.01) in a dose-dependent manner, when pretreated with alcoholic leaf extract of vitex negundo Linn. The photomicrographs of liver with Adriamycin treatment showed cellular swelling of hepatocytes with diffused mononuclear cell infiltration in hepatic parenchyma, derangement of hepatic cords, granular cytoplasmic and vacuolar changes indicative of hepatic degeneration. On treatment with crude herbal drug, liver under stress of Adriamycin revealed mild degree of pathological alterations of degenerative nature in hepatocytes with focal marginal changes in hepatic parenchyma without any inflammation. This may be a sign of the hepatoprotective effect of herbal extract due to presence of phenolics, flavonoids and other compounds over Adriamycin induced histopathological changes in liver.
