Anti-oxidative and hepatoprotective effect of beta-carotene on acetaminophen-induced liver damage in rats

The role of oxidative stress on the hepatic damage caused by acetaminophen (APAP) and the possible protectiveeffects of beta-carotene supplement against this damage were investigated. The rats were randomly divided into fourgroups: control, APAP, beta-carotene, and APAP1beta-carotene. The control group received distilled water whileAPAP (750 mg/kg body weight), beta-carotene (10 mg/kg/day body weight) (BC) were administered to the other groupsaccordingly. The serum glutamate oxalate transaminase (SGOT), serum glutamic pyruvate transaminase (SGPT) aswell as serum alkaline phosphatase (SAP) levels of APAP group were significantly increased when compared with thecontrol (p , 0.01). This was ameliorated by the administration of beta-carotene. The SOD, GSH, and CAT levels of theAPAP groups which were significantly decreased (p , 0.001) when compared with the control. There was a boost inthe antioxidant level after the application of BC. The reverse was the case in the malondialdehyde (MDA) activity. Thestudy showed that BC will ameliorate the damaging effect of APAP on liver tissues.