Antioxidant effects of ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) against lead acetate-induced hepatotoxicity in rats

Humans are exposed to a number of toxic elements in the environment. Lead, widely used in industry, is a great environmental health problem of both humans and animals. Effects of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation have been postulated to be major contributors to lead-exposure related disease. Effects of aqueous solution of whole ginger on hepatic injury due to lead-induced oxidative stress in experimental rats have been investigated. Lead acetate (LA) at a dose of 500 ppm in drinking water was administered to rats for 50 days to induce hepatic injury. Freshly prepared aqueous whole ginger solution at a dose of 160 mg/kg body weight was administered orally to rats. Lead acetate treatment caused hepatic injury as evident from increased activities of plasma alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) atrnd alkaline phosphatase (ALP), depleted hepatic reduced glutathione (GSH) and elevated hepatic malondialdhyde (MDA) concentration. Lead-induced oxidative stress in liver was evident from increased levels of lipid peroxidation and reduced level of GSH. The decreased activity of glutathione peroxidase (GPx) indicates possible accumulation of ROS. The changes in AST and GPx activities and MDA concentration were found to be mitigated when the rats were treated with whole ginger. Also, ginger treatment of LA-exposed rats was found to enhance superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity. Results indicate that ginger has the potential to ameliorate lead-induced hepatic injury due to oxidative stress in rats. Ginger may exert its protective actions against lead-induced hepatotoxicity in rats possibly through its antioxidant mechanisms and may have future therapeutic relevance. Key words: Lead, ginger, oxidative stress, antioxidants, hepatotoxicity, albino rats.