Ganesh Chandra Jagetia and Vanessa Lalnuntluangi
Doxorubicin is a used clinically to treat various neoplastic disorders and it acts by inducing oxidative stress in the neoplastic cells. However, the brunt of free radicals is also felt by the normal tissues leading to the development of second malignancies. Therefore any agent that is able to reduce doxorubicin-induced oxidative stress may be useful in reducing the toxicity of doxorubicin in normal cells during its clinical use. Liver is an important metabolic organ in the body and the aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of naringin, a citrus bioflavanone on the doxorubicin-induced oxidative stress in rat liver. The rats were administered with 2 mg/kg body weight of naringin or 5 mg/kg body weight of doxorubicin alone or in combination with each other and the activities of glutathione-s-transferase, catalase and superoxide dismutase and glutathione and lipid peroxidation levels were determined at different post doxorubicin treatment times. Administration of doxorubicin alone caused a time dependent attrition in the activities of glutathiones- transferase, catalase and superoxide dismutase and glutathione concentration, accompanied by a significant increase in lipid peroxidation. Treatment of rats with naringin before doxorubicin administration significantly raised the glutathiones- transferase, catalase and superoxide dismutase activities and glutathione concentration followed by a reduced doxorubicin-induced lipid peroxidation. Our study demonstrates that naringin has been able to arrest the doxorubicin-induced oxidative stress by raising the antioxidant status and reducing lipid peroxidation.
