Research Journal of Pharmacology and Pharmacodynamics

S. Aljassabi ¹, Mohd Sofian Azirun ¹, Ali Saad ²

Affiliations
1 Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, MY
2 Jordanian University of Science and Technology, JO

Abstract

Some parts of Malaysia are endemic areas, whereas malaria exists and its control has become a formidable task. Chloroquine phosphate (CQ) on account of its rapid action on blood schizontocide of all the malarial parasite strains has become the most widely prescribed drug for prophylaxis and treatment of malaria. Toxicity of CQ is most commonly encountered at therapeutic and higher doses of treatment. Thus, the present study was undertaken to evaluate the protective effect of curcumin, a herbal antioxidant obtained from Curcuma Tonga, on hepatic and renal biochemical status of CQ-induced Balb/c mice. It has been shown that administration of CQ brought about a significant decrease in antioxidant enzymes, catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSHpx) activities, whereas alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activity was found to be significantly increased following CQ treatment. Lipid peroxidation (LPO) was found to be elevated in a significant manner in the CQ treated group as compared to control. Body, liver and kidney weights declined significantly following CQ treatment. Administration of curcumin exhibited significant reversal of CQ induced toxicity in hepatic and renal tissues. Thus obtained results led us to conclude that curcumin has a highly protective power against CQ toxicity and the protective action relates, at least in part to its direct free radical scavenging ability.

Keywords

Chloroquine, Curcumin, Antioxidant, Liver Damage, Kidney Damage.

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