Abstract
Paraquat (PQ), an effective and widely used herbicide, has been proven to be safe
when appropriately applied to eliminate weeds. However, PQ poisoning is an extremely
frustrating clinical condition with a high mortality and with a lack of effective
treatments in humans. PQ is known to induce injury via a redox cyclic reaction. The
purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of aqueous extract Matricaria chamomilla.L (M. chamomilla) against PQ-induced liver injury in association with its antioxidant activity.
The male rats were treated by gastric gavage daily with PQ (5 mg/kg/day) and M. chamomilla (50 mg/kg/day) were administered alone or in combination for 7 days. After treatments,
total antioxidant capacity (TAC), total thiol molecules (TTG) levels and catalase
(CAT) activity in liver tissue were measured. At the end of the experiment, plasma
and lung tissue of the animals was separated. The activity of enzymatic scavengers
such as CAT, TAC and TTG were measured in liver homogenate.
In this sample, the TAC and TTG were lower in the PQ group as compared with control
group. Co-administration of PQ with M. chamomilla extract increased TAC and TTG in liver tissue as compared with PQ group.
In conclusion, M. chamomilla as natural antioxidant may be considered beneficial for the protection oxidative
liver injury in PQ poisoning.
Key words
paraquat - matricaria chamomilla.L - oxidative stress - liver - rat