Impact of Cooked Tribulus Terrestris Fruit Extract on Lead Induced Hepato and Renal Toxicity

Aim: The present study was undertaken to explore the effect of cooked Tribulus terrestris fruit extract in lead acetate induced toxicity in female Sprague dawley rats.
Methods: Rats ageing (6 months) were grouped into three in a randomized mode that average weight of animals in each group would be 150-250 gms. Normal feed pellets and water ad libitum were provided to animals throughout the experiment. As Group 1-Experimental Group was fed with cooked Tribulus terrestris fruit extract and lead acetate (100mg/kg/bwt + 15mg/kg/bwt/ day) respectively, Group 2-Negative Control Group was administered only with lead acetate (15mg/kg/bwt/ day) and no other treatment was given, Group 3- Control Group was on normal standard diet. After the treatment period of 30 days the animals were weighed and blood was taken by cardiac puncture. Further, liver and kidneys were surgically removed for histopathological examination.
Result: After the treatment period, it was observed that the negative control had a significant abnormality in their hepatic enzyme markers (P< 0.01) namely ALT, AST, ALP whereas the experimental group treated with the fruit extract did not have a deterious increase in the enzymes but significantly different from negative control group. Total protein, albumin and globulin were also analogous with normal control group.
Conclusion: However, histopathological study showed no gross change in the liver morphology but the treatment with cooked Tribulus terrestris fruit extract showed no deposition of lead precipitates in the kidney but deposits were found in negative control group. Therefore it is imperative that cooked Tribulus terrestris fruit extract is potential in protecting lead induced toxicity.

Author(s): Kannan Eagappan*, Sasikala Sasikumar, Darshit B Shah, Aruna V, Vivek N

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