Biochemical changes in rats exposed to crude oil and the antioxidant role of Allanblackia floribunda stem-bark

Abstract

The role of Allanblackia floribunda stem-bark on oxidative stress and biochemical changes induced by crude oil were investigated in rats. Thirty albino rats of both sexes, were randomly grouped into five with six rats in each group. A group which served as normal control had no treatment, a second group was orally administered crude oil at a dose of 5 ml/kg body weight, every other day for 28 days, a third group received 50 mg/kg A. floribunda stem-bark extracts, another two groups were orally administered crude oil at a dose of 5 ml/kg body weight and received A. floribunda stem-bark extracts (25 and 50 mg/kg) using oral dosing needle, every other day for 28 days. The results showed that administration of 5.0 (ml/kg bw), crude oil resulted in a significant increase in serum malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, and induced significant alterations in the activities of plasma superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POX) and catalase (CAT) in the rats. A significant increase was also observed in the activities of alkaline phosphatases (ALP), alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and increase the level of uric acid and total protein. The biochemical changes in antioxidant enzymes and other marker enzymes may be due to oxidative stress and/or adaptive responses.

The rats that were simultaneously treated with crude oil and A. floribunda extracts however, maintained relatively no significant (p>0.05) biochemical changes in the serum and hepatic cells when compared with the control. The non-significant (p>0.05) changes recorded may be due to the antioxidant role of A. floribunda. The results shows that crude oil induces oxidative stress and biochemical changes in serum and liver in the rats. The crude oil treated rats needle-dosed with A. floribunda showed the probable therapeutic and antioxidative role of A. floribunda in crude oil oxidative stress.