Potential effects of olive oil and thyme powder on oxidative stress and liver functions of cirrhotic rats

Abstract EN

This study was designed to determine the effects of olive oil and thyme powder on liver functions and oxidative stress of cirrhotic rats.

Thirty-five male rats were divided into two main groups: the negative control group (n=7) and fed on a basal diet.

The second group (n= 27) was intraperitoneally injected with carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) for six weeks to induce liver cirrhosis, then divided into four sub-groups; first group (group 2) was positive control; groups (3 and 4) were fed on a basal diet supplemented with olive oil (5% ) and thyme powder (10% ), respectively.

The last group (group 5) was fed on a basal diet supplemented with a mixture of olive oil (5% ) and thyme powder (10% ).

The results indicated that olive oil, thyme, and their mixture significantly increased (P<0.05) the level of IgM, IgG, albumin, and globulin in cirrhotic rats compared to the positive control group.

Also, the level of antioxidant indicators (glutathione, GSH, and superoxide dismutase, SOD) were significantly (P<0.05) increased, while the level of malonaldehyde (MDA) was significantly decreased.

Furthermore, liver functions (ALT, AST, ALP, and T.

bilirubin) of cirrhotic rats were significantly (P<0.05) improved in treated groups.

The synergistic protection effect was recorded for the mixture group (i.

e.

, olive oil and thyme powder), which could be attributed to their high total phenolic content and high antioxidant activity.

It could be concluded that olive oil and thyme powder could be promising foods for controlling liver cirrhosis.