Co-administration of sodium arsenite and ethanol: Protection by aqueous extract of Aframomum longiscapum seeds

Abstract

Human exposure to arsenicals, its toxicity, subsequent adverse effects on health has been widely reported and implicated in the etiology of several cancers. We investigated the effect of Aframomum longiscapum (AL) extracts on sodium arsenite (SA) and ethanol (EtOH)- induced toxicities in rats. Male rats were fed SA, EtOH, and SA + EtOH, with or without AL for 5 weeks. Hepatic transaminases were assessed in serum, micronucleated polychromatic erythrocytes (mPCEs) from bone marrow, liver histopathology, and semen quality from caudal epididymis were assessed, respectively, and data were represented as mean ± SD, analyzed by ANOVA. SA, SA + EtOH, and AL alone induced mPCEs formation in rat bone marrow (P 0.05) across the treated groups. Hepatic histopathology indicated mild mononuclear cellular infiltration in the control group. Necrotic hepatocyte were observed in SA, SA + EtOH treated groups, with no visible lesions seen in the AL treated group. Mild hepatocyte congestion of the portal vessels was observed in AL + SA + EtOH-treated groups. The AL extract exhibited anticlastogenic and hepatoprotective potentials, reduced sperm count, motility, with no effect on viability and morphology. Our findings suggest that AL may mitigate the effect of arsenicals-induced clastogenicity implicated in chemical carcinogenesis.

Keywords: Aframomum longiscapum; arsenite; ethanol; micronuclei