Protective Effects of Thymoquinone on Doxorubicin-induced Anti/oxidant Levels in Rat Peripheral Tissues

Abstract

Abstract We aimed to investigate the effects of thymoquinone (TQ) against Doxorubicin (DOX)-induced toxicity in liver, lung, kidney, testis, diaphragm and stomach tissues of rats. Healthy twenty-eight male Wistar albino rats aged three months, were divided into four groups, each contained seven animals: Group 1: Control (C), Group 2: Rats treated with thymoquinone (T) (10 mg/kg given by gavage), Group 3: Rats treated with doxorubicin (D) were injected intraperitoneally (3 mg/kg) and Group 4: Rats treated with doxorubicin (injected intraperitoneally with 3 mg/kg DOX) and thymoquinone (10 mg/kg given by gavage) (DT). At the end of the experiment, the animals were euthanized with sodium pentobarbital (50 mg/kg) and their lung, liver, stomach, kidney, diaphragm and testicular tissues were dissected for the measurement of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels. It was observed that DOX administration (in group D) increased lipid peroxidation and decreased antioxidant enzyme levels in peripheral tissues of rats. It was determined that TQ treatment (in the DT group) given with DOX decreased lipid peroxidation and increased antioxidant enzyme levels. In our study, it was determined that TQ treatment eliminated the toxic effects of DOX and the protective effects of TQ were revealed.