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Thioacetamide-induced acute hepatic encephalopathy: central vs peripheral effect of Allicin

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Abstract

Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a debilitating and life-threatening disease. Results from acute or chronic liver failure and is characterized by abnormal cerebral and neurological alterations. This study aimed at investigating the effect of allicin, the major functional component in freshly crushed garlic extract, on thioacetamide (TAA)-induced HE in rats. Induction of HE by a single dose of TAA (300 mg/kg; I.P.) was associated with a marked elevation in the serum levels of alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, bilirubin, albumin, total protein, blood urea nitrogen and serum ammonia besides reduction in the serum level of albumin. Moreover, it was accompanied with an increase in the hepatic and brain levels of inflammatory mediators; TNF-α and IL-1β as well as elevation of the hepatic and brain levels of oxidative stress biomarkers; reduced glutathione and lipid peroxidation evidenced by malondialdeyde. Oral administration of allicin (50, 100 and 200 mg/kg; P.O.) for 6 days prior to TAA injection restored the serum liver function, hepatic and brain levels of inflammatory mediators as well as oxidative stress biomarkers in a dose-dependent manner. From our results, it can be concluded that allicin has a protective effect on TAA-induced HE in rats in a dose-dependent manner due to its powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

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Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, D. Saleh, upon reasonable request.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacology, National Research Centre (ID: 60014618), 33 El Buhouth st-Dokki, Cairo, P.O:12622, Egypt

    Dalia O. Saleh & Dina F. Mansour

  2. Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, October University for Modern Science and Arts (MSA University), 6th of October, Egypt

    Ahmed M. Fayez

Authors
  1. Dalia O. Saleh
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  2. Dina F. Mansour
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  3. Ahmed M. Fayez
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Contributions

D. O. Saleh has designed the work, collected and interpreted the data, drafted and revised the article and has been responsible for the publication. D. F. Mansour has collected the data and drafted the article. A. M. Fayez has interpreted the data and finally approved the version for publishing.

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Correspondence to Dalia O. Saleh.

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Conflict of interest

Authors declare no conflict of interest. The study was carried out according to the guidelines of the Ethics Committee, Faculty of Pharmacy, October University for Modern Sciences and Arts (approval no. PH2/EC2/2016F).

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Saleh, D.O., Mansour, D.F. & Fayez, A.M. Thioacetamide-induced acute hepatic encephalopathy: central vs peripheral effect of Allicin. Metab Brain Dis 36, 1331–1340 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11011-021-00695-7

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