Oligochaeta ramosa (Roxb.) Extract Regulates Lipid Metabolism and Exerts Hepatoprotective Effects in Cadmium-Induced Hepatic Injury in Rats

Saira Aslam; Fiaz-Ud-Din Ahmad; Waseem Hassan; Manal Ali Buabeid; Imran Mukhtar; Muhammad Ihtisham Umar; Nihal Abdallah Ibrahim

doi:10.1155/2022/2756769

Oligochaeta ramosa (Roxb.) Extract Regulates Lipid Metabolism and Exerts Hepatoprotective Effects in Cadmium-Induced Hepatic Injury in Rats

Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2022 Nov 1:2022:2756769. doi: 10.1155/2022/2756769. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Saira Aslam¹, Fiaz-Ud-Din Ahmad¹, Waseem Hassan², Manal Ali Buabeid³, Imran Mukhtar¹, Muhammad Ihtisham Umar², Nihal Abdallah Ibrahim⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur, Pakistan.
² Department of Pharmacy, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus, Lahore 54000, Pakistan.
³ Department of Pharmacy, Fatima College of Health Sciences, Abu Dhabi, UAE.
⁴ Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Ajman University, Ajman, UAE.

Abstract

Environmental pollutants present a potential source of toxicity when exposed to humans. The study was aimed at investigating the potential of Oligochaeta ramosa (Roxb.) as a hepatoprotective agent in cadmium-induced hepatotoxicity causing lipid profile disturbance. The aqueous methanolic (30 : 70 v/v) extract of O. ramosa Roxb. (AME.Or) was subjected to preliminary phytochemical analysis, whereas the antioxidant activity of its constituents was investigated by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay. The hepatoprotective and antihyperlipidemic effects of AME.Or was investigated by dividing animals into five groups (A-E). Animals were either treated with normal saline or CdCl₂ (6.5 mg/kg, intraperitoneally) followed by treatment with silymarin (100 mg/kg), or AME.Or (200 mg/kg) and AME.Or (400 mg/kg) for consecutive three weeks. Blood samples were collected, and the serum lipid profile was assessed on the 11^th and 21^st day of treatment. Histopathological analysis was performed after euthanization. In vitro analysis of AME.Or revealed 64% inhibition as free radicals scavenging potential during DPPH, total phenolic content (TPC) (79.92 mgGAE/g), and total flavonoids content (TFC) (38.75 mgRE/g). The group intoxicated with CdCl₂ showed significantly high (p ≤ 0.05) levels of the liver function indicators and lipid profile than in the control group. The higher dose of AME.Or (400 mg/kg) significantly decreased the aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine transferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), total bilirubin (p ≤ 0.001), decreased total cholesterol and triglycerides (p ≤ 0.01) while significantly increased high density lipoprotein (HDL; p ≤ 0.01) as compared to the intoxicated group. The histopathological analysis of the liver revealed signs of necrosis in the intoxicated group, while AME.Or treated groups showed marked improvement. The findings accentuate the therapeutic importance of O. ramosa (Roxb.) as a hepatoprotective remedy.