Antioxidant Effect of Naringin on Nickel-induced Toxicity in Rats: an in Vivo and in Vitro Study

The aim of the study was to evaluate the circulating antioxidant such as vitamin C, vitamin E and GSH in nickel (Ni) induced toxicity in rats and in vitro free radical scavenging assay. In this investigation nickel sulfate (20 mg/kg body weight (b.w.) was administered intraperitoneally (i.p.) for 20 days to induce toxicity. Naringin was administered orally (80 mg/kg body weight) for 20 days with i.p. injection of nickel sulfate. The toxic effect of nickel was indicated by significantly decreased activities of non-enzymatic antioxidants like reduced glutathione, vitamin C and vitamin E. Treatment with naringin exhibited a significant (P < 0.05) increase in Ni-induced rats. The free radical scavenging properties of naringin were investigated with different in vitro methods such as 2, 2diphenyl1picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH), 2, 2’azinobis (3-ethylbenzo thiazoline6sulfonic acid) radical (ABTS), hydroxyl radical, superoxide anion scavenging activity and reducing power. In addition to that ascorbic acid, butylated hydroxyl toluene was used as the reference antioxidant radical scavenger compounds. Among the different concentration, 500 μM of naringin had significantly effective compared to other concentration in all in vitro assay. Based on these findings naringin possess potent in vivo and in vitro antioxidant activity and also effective free radical scavenger, augmenting its therapeutic value.