Protective Effect of Some Egyptian Medicinal Plants Against Oxidative Stress in Rats

This study aimed to evaluate the antioxidant effect of two herbal plant ethanolic extracts, Moringa Oleifera and Sweet Marjoram against paracetamol-induced toxicity in male albino rats. The study was conducted on 64 male albino rats (150–200 g) classified into eight groups each of 8. The first group received only 0.5 ml of distilled water/day and was served as control. The second, third and fourth groups were administered Moringa Oleifera or Sweet Marjoram alone or in combination at a dose of 250mg/kg/day. Paracetamol drug was added as powder to rat diet of the fifth group as 3000 ppm. The sixth, seventh and eighth groups were given paracetamol as 3000 ppm in diet in addition to Moringa, Marjoram or Moringa+Marjoram respectively. All treatments were administered daily for one month. The results clarified that paracetamol toxicity resulted in significant adverse effects on hematological, serum biochemical and oxidant-antioxidant status as well as histopathological picture of liver and kidney. Moringa and Marjoram successfully improved the undesirable effects of paracetamol and restored almost all variables to near their control levels. It was concluded that oxidative stress appeared to contribute in the pathogenesis of paracetamol-induced toxicity in rats and using Moringa and Marjoram herbal extracts as natural supplementary herbs beside their health benefits can protect against oxidative damage caused by paracetamol.