Ukam U Uno^1,2 , Reagan B Agbor¹, Dominic A Offiong³, Ekerette E Ekerette¹, Idara S Esua¹, Uduak L Edem¹, Utip B Ekaluo¹

For correspondence:-  Ukam Uno   Email: ukamuno@yahoo.com

Received: 18 December 2024        Accepted: 16 February 2025        Published: 28 February 2025

Citation: Uno UU, Agbor RB, Offiong DA, Ekerette EE, Esua IS, Edem UL, et al. Role of vitamin C in mitigating lead-induced hepatotoxicity in male albino rats. Trop J Pharm Res 2025; 24(2):233-239 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v24i2.11

© 2025 The authors.
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Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the adaptive role of vitamin C (VC) against lead-induced hepatotoxicity in male albino rats. Methods: Twenty-four male albino rats were randomly assigned to four treatment groups, with each group consisting of six animals, following a completely randomized design. Animals in group I served as the control. Group II was administered 60 mg/kg body weight (BW) of Pb acetate, group III was administered 100 mg/kg BW of VC, while group IV was treated with 60 mg/kg BW of Pb acetate and VC at 100 mg/kg BW. The animals were treated orally for 65 days. Twenty-four hours after treatment, changes in body weight, liver enzymes and histopathological parameters were compared. Results: Results showed a significant reduction in the body weight of Pb-exposed animals when compared with control group (p < 0.05). The level of Pb residue was significantly higher in the liver of rats administered solely with Pb when compared with the control animals and other treatment groups (p < 0.05). Moreover, Pb-treated animals showed liver histopathological changes such as injured hepatocytes and cytoplasmic swellings which suggest inflammation, in comparison with animals in control group. Notably, vitamin C administration mitigated Pb-induced effects across all evaluated parameters. Conclusion: The results provided evidence of the adaptive potential of VC in mitigating Pb-induced hepatotoxicity in male albino rats.