Antioxidant Effect of Alpha Lipoic Acid on Hepatotoxicity Induced by Aluminium Chloride in Rats

The present study was planned to investigate the ameliorative effects of α-lipoic acid (α-LA) supplementation against aluminium chloride (AlCl3) induced hepatotoxicity in rats. The results showed that rats consuming diets with AlCl3 added had poor growth performance, and most serum hematological indexes were significantly altered compared to the control. Biochemical results showed that lipid peroxidation increased significantly in Al-treated rats, as evidenced by high liver malondialdehyde (MDA) levels. Alteration of the antioxidant system in treated group was confirmed by the significant decline of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activities and reduced glutathione (GSH) content in liver. Moreover, AlCl3 exposure induced an increase in the activities of the aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), lactate deshydrogenase (LDH) and bilirubin levels, while albumin and total protein were significantly decreased. These results strongly suggest that aluminium affected antioxidant defence system and both haematological and biochemical parameters, co-administration of α-lipoic acid exerted a protective effect against aluminium induced oxidative stress.