Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran

Considering the importance of liver toxicity due to drugs and toxins as a major cause of liver damage, this study was conducted to evaluate the effects of the combination of cinnamon and ginger extracts on serum biochemical parameters in carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)- intoxicated rats. In this experimental study, forty-two male Wistar rats were divided into 7 groups (n=6). Three control groups including normal control, combined extract control and damaged control were designated that received distilled water, a mixture of cinnamon and ginger extracts and distilled water respectively for 14 days.
Other 4 groups were pre-treatment groups which were treated with cinnamon (50 mg/kg/d), ginger (250 mg/kg/d), cinnamon + ginger (25+125 mg/kg/d) and silymarin (100 mg/kg/d) respectively for 14 days before being damaged by intraperitoneal injection of CCl4 (1 ml/kg, 1:1 in olive oil). Fifty - two hours after CCl4 injection, blood sampling was performed and biochemical parameters were measured in serum of rats. The results of this study showed that the injection of CCl4 significantly increased the ALT and AST enzymes activity ,cholesterol, triglyceride, and LDL levels and decreased the blood albumin and HDL levels in damaged rats compared to the normal control group (p<0.001). However, pre-treatment with the cinnamon and ginger extracts, especially combination of extracts significantly improved these values ​​compared to the CCl4 damage group (p<0.001). The results suggest that simultaneous use of cinnamon and ginger extracts has more significant protective effects against CCl4-induced hepatotoxicity.