Hepatopathy and Reno-cardiopathy Induced by Ritalin in Rats
Nadia Amin Abdelmajeed
Department of Biochemistry
King Abdulaziz University
Jeddah, Saudia Arabia
Abstract:
The aim of the present investigation was to illustrate the pathological oxidative toxic effects of ritalin induced tissue damage on different organs of rats. Animals were divided into two groups; G1: normal control (not received any drug), G2: Ritalin treated group. Ritalin administered orally using a single dose of 1 mg/ 100gm body weight. The pathological toxic effects of this drug on different tissue organs (liver, kidney and heart) were studied after three different experimental periods ( after 10, 20 and 30 days) just after drug administration. The results showed that ingestion of Ritalin induced significant increase in the activity of xanthin oxidase (XO, free radical producing enzyme), coupled with elevated level of nitric oxide (NO) in liver, kidney and heart of Ritalin -treated rats versus normal animals, indicating oxidative tissue damage. The deterioration of these biomarkers was in line with induction of malondialdehyde (MDA, index of lipid peroxidation) in kidney ,and decreased in adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) and lactate dehdrogenase (LDH) activities in cardiac tissue. The tissue injury induced in liver of rats under the effect of Ritalin was documented by a depletion in the activity of liver sorbitol dehydrogenase (SD) with elevation in liver serum marker enzymes, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT). In addition, the pronounced increased levels of serum biomarkers of kidney function, creatinine and uric acid as well as in serum index enzyme of heart, creatine phosphokinase (CPK) in Ritalin treated rats in relation to normal animals, indicating the adverse toxic effects of the used drug on kidney and heart tissues. The current investigation also demonstrates that ingestion of Ritalin to rats led to a decrease in level of hemoglobin (Hb) compared with normal animals. The toxic effect of the tested drug on the histomorphology of the studied organs was also conducted. The degenerative necrotic alterations observed in biochemical parameters and reflected by histopathological pictures were severe in the three studied periods.
