Protective Effect of Opuntia dillenii Haw Fruit against Lead Acetate-Induced Hepatotoxicity: In Vitro and In Vivo Studies

Reza Shirazinia; Ali Akbar Golabchifar; Vafa Baradaran Rahimi; Abbas Jamshidian; Alireza Samzadeh-Kermani; Parisa Hasanein; Mohammadreza Hajinezhad; Vahid Reza Askari

doi:10.1155/2021/6698345

Protective Effect of Opuntia dillenii Haw Fruit against Lead Acetate-Induced Hepatotoxicity: In Vitro and In Vivo Studies

Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2021 Apr 29:2021:6698345. doi: 10.1155/2021/6698345. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Reza Shirazinia¹, Ali Akbar Golabchifar¹, Vafa Baradaran Rahimi², Abbas Jamshidian³, Alireza Samzadeh-Kermani⁴, Parisa Hasanein⁵, Mohammadreza Hajinezhad⁶, Vahid Reza Askari^{2

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Affiliations

¹ Department of Comparative Biosciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
² Applied Biomedical Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
³ Pathobiology Department, Veterinary Faculty, University of Zabol, Zabol, Iran.
⁴ Chemistry Department, Basic Science Faculty, University of Zabol, Zabol, Iran.
⁵ Department of Biology, School of Basic Sciences, University of Zabol, Zabol, Iran.
⁶ Department of Basic Science, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zabol, Zabol, Iran.
⁷ Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences in Persian Medicine, School of Persian and Complementary Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
⁸ Department of Persian Medicine, School of Persian and Complementary Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.

Abstract

Lead is one of the most common environmental contaminants in the Earth's crust, which induces a wide range of humans biochemical changes. Previous studies showed that Opuntia dillenii (OD) fruit possesses several antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. The present study evaluates OD fruit hydroalcoholic extract (OHAE) hepatoprotective effects against lead acetate- (Pb-) induced toxicity in both animal and cellular models. Male rats were grouped as follows: control, Pb (25 mg/kg/d i.p.), and groups 3 and 4 received OHAE at 100 and 200 mg/kg/d + Pb (25 mg/kg/d i.p.), for ten days of the experiment. Thereafter, we evaluated the levels of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and aspartate aminotransferase (AST), catalase (CAT) activity and malondialdehyde (MDA) in serum, and liver histopathology. Additionally, the cell study was also done using the HepG2 cell line for measuring the direct effects of the extract on cell viability, oxidative stress MDA, and glutathione (GSH) and inflammation tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) following the Pb-induced cytotoxicity. Pb significantly increased the serum levels of ALT, AST, ALP, and MDA and liver histopathological scores but notably decreased CAT activity compared to the control group (p < 0.001 for all cases). OHAE (100 and 200 mg/kg) significantly reduced the levels of serum liver enzyme activities and MDA as well as histopathological scores while it significantly increased CAT activity compared to the Pb group (p < 0.001-0.05 for all cases). OHAE (20, 40, and 80 μg/ml) concentration dependently and significantly reduced the levels of MDA and TNF-α, while it increased the levels of GSH and cell viability in comparison to the Pb group (p < 0.001-0.05 for all cases). These data suggest that OHAE may have hepatoprotective effects against Pb-induced liver toxicity both in vitro and in vivo by its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities.