Ameliorative potential of Betulinic Acid against Atrazine-induced Hepatic and Testicular Damage in Wistar rats

Abstract

Atrazine (ATZ) is a selective pre- and post-emergentherbicide for combatingweeds, which however causes endocrine disruption and delays or changes in pubertal development in experimental animals. Since a paucity of information on the effects of Betulinic acid (BA), a triterpene antioxidant on ATZ toxicity was noted in literature, the present work was designed to study the effects of BA on the antioxidant profile and histopathology of liver and testes of rats treated with ATZ. The ATZ significantly increased protein levels in serum (46.2%) and liver (94.8%), while that of testes (55.9%) was significantly decreased, relative to controls. Pretreatment with BA ameliorated the effect in serum and liver compared with ATZ group. The ATZ treatment significantly lowered Superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities by 52.8% and 89.3%, and Catalase (CAT) activities by 56.9% and 53.6% in liver and testes, respectively, relative to controls, whereas the activities were significantly elevated on BA pre treatment. Malondialdehyde (MDA) was elevated by 84.65 and 85.8%, while reduced glutathione (GSH) was decreased by 51.2% and 64.2% in liver and testes, respectively when compared with controls. However, BA ameliorated the effect compared with ATZ group. In the ATZ –treated rats, liver was noted to develop mild hepatocyte degeneration and periportal cell infiltration, while foci tubular distortion and capsular congestion were observed in the testicular tissue, effects which BA pretreatment was able to ameliorate. In conclusion, Betulinic acid improved the antioxidative status of hepatic and testicular tissues against Atrazine intoxication in rats.

Keywords: Atrazine, Betulinic acid, Antioxidant profile, Tissue histology