Screening of the phytochemical constituents of Teucrium polium extract and evaluation of their prophylactic role against the oxidative damage and cytotoxicity of Aflatoxin B1 in rats

Zineddine Boutefaha; Kawthar A Diab; Sara Gheraibia; Aziza A El-Nekeety; Noureddine Belattar; Marwa E Hassan; Sekena H Abdel-Aziem; Nabila S Hassan; Mosaad A Abdel-Wahhab

doi:10.1016/j.toxicon.2023.107252

Screening of the phytochemical constituents of Teucrium polium extract and evaluation of their prophylactic role against the oxidative damage and cytotoxicity of Aflatoxin B₁ in rats

Toxicon. 2023 Sep:233:107252. doi: 10.1016/j.toxicon.2023.107252. Epub 2023 Aug 18.

Authors

Zineddine Boutefaha¹, Kawthar A Diab², Sara Gheraibia¹, Aziza A El-Nekeety³, Noureddine Belattar¹, Marwa E Hassan⁴, Sekena H Abdel-Aziem⁵, Nabila S Hassan⁶, Mosaad A Abdel-Wahhab⁷

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory of Applied Biochemistry, Faculty of Sciences of Nature and Life, Ferhat Abbes University, Setif 1, Algeria.
² Genetics and Cytology Department, National Research Center, Dokki, Cairo, Egypt.
³ Food Toxicology & Contaminants Department, National Research Center, Dokki, Cairo, Egypt.
⁴ Toxicology Dept., Research Institute of Medical Entomology, Giza, Egypt.
⁵ Cell Biology Department, National Research Center, Dokki, Cairo, Egypt.
⁶ Pathology Department, National Research Center, Dokki, Cairo, Egypt.
⁷ Food Toxicology & Contaminants Department, National Research Center, Dokki, Cairo, Egypt. Electronic address: mosaad_abdelwahhab@yahoo.com.

PMID: 37597789
DOI: 10.1016/j.toxicon.2023.107252

Abstract

Aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁) is common carcinogen causing acute and chronic hepatocyte injuries. This study aimed to determine the bioactive components of Teucrium polium methanolic extract (TPE) and to evaluate their protective role against AFB₁-induced oxidative damage, cytotoxicity, and genotoxicity in rats. Six groups of male albino rats were treated orally for 4 weeks including the control group, the ِAFB₁-treated group (80 μg/kg b.w.), the groups treated with low (LD) or high (HD) dose TPE (50 or 100 mg/kg b.w.), and the groups treated with AFB₁ plus TEP (LD) or TPE (HD). Blood and serum samples were collected for different assays. The GC-MS identified 34 compounds, the major compounds were pinene, germacrene D, α-cadinol, α-thujene, epi-bicyclosesquiphellandrene, and limonene. Animals that received AFB₁ showed significant changes in all indicators of oxidative stress, biochemistry, cytokines, MNPCEs, comet tail formation in bone marrow, mRNA expression of inflammatory-related genes, Nrf2, and iNOS beside histological changes in the liver. TPE at the two doses tested showed insignificant changes in all tested parameters. The extract could normalize most of these parameters and the hepatic structure in AFB₁-treated animals in a dose-dependent fashion. therefore, we concluded that TPE supplementation is effective for protection against AFB₁ in endemic areas.

Keywords: Aflatoxin B(1); Cytotoxicity; Genotoxicity; Liver; Oxidative damage; Teucrium polium.

MeSH terms

Aflatoxin B1* / toxicity
Animals
Biological Assay
Carcinogens
Male
Oxidative Stress
Rats
Teucrium*

Substances

Aflatoxin B1
Carcinogens