Vet World Vol.18 February-2025 Article - 1
Research Article
Veterinary World, 18(2): 252-262
https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2025.252-262
The protective effects of Saudi propolis against hepatic injury induced by gold nanoparticles in adult male albino rats
Background and Aim: Gold nanoparticles (GNPs) are widely used in industrial and medical applications due to their unique properties but may induce oxidative stress and hepatotoxicity. Propolis, a bee-derived natural product with potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, shows promise as a hepatoprotective agent. This study evaluates the protective effects of Saudi propolis against GNP-induced hepatic damage by examining oxidative stress, lipid metabolism, and liver function. This study aimed to investigate the hepatoprotective effects of Saudi propolis against oxidative damage and lipid dysregulation induced by GNPs in male albino rats.
Materials and Methods: A total of 180 adult male rats were divided into six groups: (1) Control (saline), (2) Propolis (100 mg/kg), (3) GNPs (10 nm, 0.2 mg/kg/day), (4) GNPs (30 nm, 0.2 mg/kg/day), (5) GNPs (10 nm) + propolis, and (6) GNPs (30 nm) + propolis. Treatments were administered daily for 5, 10, or 15 days. Blood and liver samples were analyzed for oxidative stress markers, liver enzymes (aspartate transaminase, alanine transaminase, alkaline phosphatase, and glutamyl transpeptidase), lipid peroxidation (malondialdehyde [MDA]), antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase [SOD] and glutathione peroxides [GPx]), and lipid profiles (cholesterol [CHO] and triglyceride [TG]).
Results: Rats treated with GNPs showed elevated liver enzymes, lipid peroxidation, and oxidative stress, accompanied by increased CHO and TG levels. In contrast, co-administration of Saudi propolis significantly mitigated these effects, restoring MDA, SOD, and GPx levels close to control values. The hepatoprotective effects were more pronounced for 10 nm GNPs than 30 nm. After 15 days, TG levels returned to near-normal levels, while CHO levels improved but remained elevated.
Conclusion: Saudi propolis exhibits significant protective effects against GNP-induced hepatic damage, primarily due to its antioxidant properties and ability to reduce oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation. The findings provide evidence for the therapeutic potential of propolis in managing nanoparticle-induced liver toxicity.
Keywords: antioxidants, gold nanoparticles, hepatotoxicity, lipid metabolism, oxidative stress, rats, Saudi propolis.
How to cite this article: Althubyani SA (2025) The protective effects of Saudi propolis against hepatic injury induced by gold nanoparticles in adult male albino rats, Veterinary World, 18(2): 252–262.
Received: 2024-09-14 Accepted: 2024-12-26 Published online: 2025-02-08
Corresponding author: E-mail:
DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2025.252-262
Copyright: Althubyani, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/ publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.
