ABSTRACT
Moringa oleifera Lam. (Moringaceae) is a medicinally important plant, used as traditional medicine all over the world particularly in South Asia and India. Hydroalcoholic (50% v/v) root extract of M. oleifera (150 mg/kg, p.o.) with piperine (2.5 mg/kg, p.o), or curcumin (5.0 mg/kg, p.o.) was administered daily for 1 week in Female Wistar albino rats against beryllium toxicity (1.0 mg/kg, i.p. daily for 5 weeks). Beryllium altered hepatorenal function and enhanced the leakage of AST, ALT, and LDH, depleted SALP activity, and increased the level of urea, uric acid, creatinine, triglyceride and total cholesterol in the blood. Beryllium altered tissue biochemical parameters by a decrease in SDH, ALPase, ATPase activities, and increased ACPase activity, depleted hemoglobin and ALAD activity with an increase in ALAS activity and serum bilirubin. A significant amount of beryllium deposited in the liver, kidney, spleen, and bones. M. oleifera with curcumin showed better antitoxic potential by reversal of hepatorenal function towards normal and restored the activity of SDH, ALPase, ATPase, ACPase, and hemoglobin level normal. M. oleifera with curcumin effectively mobilized beryllium from the body and restored ultrastructure of liver and kidney. It was concluded that curcumin enhances the antitoxic potential of M. oleifera root extract and reduces beryllium body burden in rats.