Hepatoprotective effects of Juniperus phoenicea L. on trichloroacetic acid induced toxicity in mice: Histological, Ultrastructure and Biochemical Studies

The present study was conducted to evaluate the possible ameliorative effect of aqueous extract of Juniperus phoenicea leaves on clinical, histological, ultra structural, and biochemical parameters against exposure to trichloroacetic acid (TCA) induced oxidative stress and liver toxicity in Swiss albino mice. Eighty female mice 2026gm were divided into 4 groups. Group I was kept as a control, group II treated orally with TCA 500 mg/kg body weight in drinking water, group III treated orally with aqueous extract of J. phoenicea (40mg/kg body weight.) once daily for 3 successive weeks and group IV treated with TCA and J. phoenicea. Mice were examined for signs of toxicity and weekly body weight changes. Blood and serum samples obtained from sacrificed animals at the end of the study were used to evaluate some biomarker liver functions (ALT, AST and total protein). Specimens of livers were processed for histological studies by light microscopy. Some liver specimens were also processed to be studied by transmission electron microscopy. Neither clinical signs nor abnormalities in behavior and external features were observed in mice treated with aqueous extract of J. phoenicea. Mice treated with TCA showed loss of appetite, loss of body furs and decreased activity. These alterations decreased in mice administrated aqueous extract of J. phoenicea and TCA. Administration of J. phoenicea had protective effect against TCA induce significant decline in the final body weight gain of female mice. Biochemical analysis revealed that intoxicated mice with TCA, led to a significant increases in serum alanin aminotransferas (ALT) and insignificant increase in aspartate aminotransferase (AST). Significant amelioration in these parameters was found in mice treated with J. phoenicea and TCA. Serum total protein in all treated groups were not found to be significantly different from the control. Histological and ultrastructure examinations also confirmed the protective efficacy of J. phoenicea. Administrated of TCA showed many severe pathological lesions include prominent vacuolated hepatocytes, dilatation and congestion of blood vessels with intravascular hemolysis of numerous red blood corpuscles, loss of normal histological architecture with stenosis of hepatic sinusoids and hyperplasia of Kupffer cells. Moreover, some hepatocytes exhibited abnormal division. Also, necrosis of some hepatocytes with pyknotic or karyolitic nuclei were noticed. However, focal necrotic areas associated with inflammatory cells infiltration were frequently observed. Furthermore, most hepatocytes revealed severe reactivity with periodic acid Schiff technique (PAS). Mice treated with TCA and J. phoenicea showed marked tissue repair and disappearance of most pathological changes. Moderate reactivity of most hepatocytes with PAS stain were frequently noticed. Electron microscopic examination of liver of mice treated with TCA showed abnormal nuclear features with decrease and abnormal heterochromatin distribution and increase nucleoli. Crowded cytoplasm of hepatocytes with small electron dens granules represented lysosomes and mitochondria with indistinct details beside, few dilated rough endoplasmic reticulum with indistinct attached ribosomes and accumulated lipid droplets of variable size were also recorded. In addition, congested blood sinusoids and hypertrophied endothelial lining cells with few and poorly identifiable organelles were seen. Also, necrotic Kupffer cells with irregular fragmented nuclei were detected. No obvious ultrastucture changes were observed in hepatocytes of mice treated with J. phoenicea. However, few vacuoles, slight increase in glycogen content and dispersed cytoplasm contained clumps of intact organelles in many hepatocytes were demonstrated. Genertally, administration of J. phoenicea lessened most sever alterastructure changes in hepatocytes of TCA intoxicated mice. [Aglal A. Alzergy and Saad M.S. Elgharbawy. Hepatoprotective effects of Juniperus phoenicea L. on trichloroacetic acid induced toxicity in mice: Histological, Ultrastructure and Biochemical Studies. J Am Sci 2017;13(12):41-61]. ISSN 1545-1003 (print); ISSN 2375-7264 (online). http://www.jofamericanscience. org. 7. doi:10.7537/marsjas131217.07.