Effect of Livergol on the Liver Function and its Histopathological Changes in Doxorubicin-Treated Rats

Doxorubicin (DOX) is an effective anti-cancer medicine with serious side effects on healthy organs, especially the liver.

The present study aimed to investigate the histopathology and effects of Livergol (Liv), a product of Silybum marianum, on serum levels of hepatic parameters in long-term DOX-treated rats.

Sixty three male Wistar rats were divided into seven groups, namely the control, sham, and experimental groups 1-5, which received certain doses of DOX, Liv, and their combination for 2 months. To produce a cumulative dose, 10 doses of 2 mg/kg DOX were intraperitoneally administered once every 6 days. Moreover, 150 and 300 mg/kg daily doses of Liv were gavaged to the experimental groups 2-5. In addition, blood samples were taken, serum levels of hepatic functional factors and liver enzymes were measured, and hematoxylin-eosin staining was performed to evaluate liver histopathology. The results were analyzed between experimental and control groups by analysis of variance and Tukey tests and the significance level was considered at < 0.05.

The serum levels of triglyceride, cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein, total and direct bilirubin, and liver enzymes in the DOX + Liv300 and Liv150 groups showed a significant decrease, compared to the DOX group. While high-density lipoprotein, albumin, and total protein showed a significant increase. Liver tissue in DOX + Liv300 and Liv150 groups did not show any damage. In addition, the serum level of liver enzymes, lipid profile, biochemical factors, and liver histopathology in the Liv300 and Liv150 groups were similar to those in the control group.

The findings demonstrated that the oral administration of Liv powder can prevent liver side effects of DOX in rats.