Effect of combined administration of caffeine and nicotine on the liver structure : experimental study in rats

Abstract EN

Introduction: both caffeine and nicotine were world wide socially accepted which were consumed together and on a daily basis in many pharmaceutical compounds and beverages, most commonly as a tea or coffee drinking for caffeine and cigarette or pipe smoking for nicotine.

The interactive effect of both drugs was found to produce many hazards on different body systems including the central nervous and cardiovascular systems.

Purpose: the present study was undertaken to investigate the effects of combined administration of both caffeine and nicotine on the liver structure experimentally in rats and to compare these effects with those after the single use of caffeine or nicotine.

Methods: sixty-five adult male rats were used in this study.

They were divided into four groups.

The first group included twenty rats; fifteen of them were given intraperitoneal injection of caffeine (100 mg/Kg body weight/day), while the other five rats were injected with an equivalent amount of saline only.

The second group included also twenty rats; fifteen of them were given nicotine intraperitoneally (2 mg/Kg body weight/day), while the other five ة،اأ-ا were injected with an equivalent amount of saline only The third group included also twenty rats; fifteen of them were given both caffeine and nicotine intraperitoneally at the same doses ٤١$ above, while the other five rats were injected with equivalent amount of saline only.

The fourth group included five rats that were served as a negative control.

The rats of all groups were sacrificed after four weeks, where liver specimens were taken and processed ،'or both light and electron microscopic examination.

Results: many and variable morphological changes were observed in the livers of caffeine and nicotine-treated rats.

These changes were in the form of fatty degeneration, vacuolar appearance, inflammatory cellular infiltration, depletion of glycogen content, haemorrhagic lesions and sometimes pyknotic cells.

Such effects were more severe than when each drug was given singly.

Conclusion: such results indicated the occurrence of interactive effect 0؛' both drugs, which accumulated progressive lesions on liver cells.