Protective Efficacy of Sesame Oil in Attenuating Paracetamol-Induced Oxidative Stress in Male Rabbits

Abstract

The present investigation was designed to ascertain whether dietary sesame oil confers protection against the oxidative insult inflicted by paracetamol in male rabbits. Exposure to paracetamol evoked a significant elevation of serum sodium and calcium accompanied by a significant depression of serum potassium, while urea and creatinine escaped detectable change. Under simultaneous sesame oil administration these electrolyte shifts were noticeably blunted: the rise in sodium and calcium was curbed while potassium moved upward, even though all three variables continued to deviate significantly from the corresponding values of untreated controls. Sesame oil supplementation raised serum glutathione (GSH) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) activity, without however achieving full normalization, whereas levels of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) were substantially curtailed. Moreover, the leukocytosis and granulocyte surge provoked by paracetamol were appreciably countered by the oil. Taken together, these observations indicate that sesame oil mitigates paracetamol-induced oxidative damage chiefly through fortification of the endogenous antioxidant machinery.