Introduction: In the current study, the protective effect of hesperidin (HP) on carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄)-induced hepatotoxicity in rats was investigated.
Material and methods: Twenty-eight rats were divided equally into four groups. The first group was kept as a control and given only vehicle. In the second, rats were orally administered 50 mg/kg/day HP for 10 days. Carbon tetrachloride was given in a single intraperitoneal injection at the dose of 2 ml/kg in the third group. In the fourth group, the rats were treated with equal doses of CCl₄ and HP.
Results: It was found that CCl₄ induced oxidative stress via a significant increase in the formation of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) and caused a significant decline in the levels of glutathione (GSH), catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in rats. In contrast, HP blocked these toxic effects induced by CCl₄, causing an increase in GSH, CAT and SOD levels and decreased formation of TBARS (p < 0.01). In addition, histopathological damage increased with CCl₄ treatment. In contrast, HP treatment eliminated the effects of CCl₄ and stimulated anti-apoptotic events, as characterized by reduced caspase-3 activation.
Conclusions: The current study demonstrated that CCl₄-induced hepatotoxicity can be prevented with HP treatment. Thus, co-administration of HP with CCl₄ may be useful for attenuating the negative effects of CCl₄ on the liver.