ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Studies have shown that consumption of high levels of alcohol causes many negative effects on the liver and kidneys where antioxidant ingredients can be a proper solution to reducing the resulting damages. So, the present study investigated the effect of hydroalcoholic extract of Crocus sativus L. (saffron) petal with antioxidant properties on the changes in inflammatory and enzymatic indices resulting from alcohol use in the male rats' kidney and liver. MATERIALS AND METHODS: After preparing the extract, LD50 was determined and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was employed to specify the type and the rate of the active ingredients of the extract. Then, 36 male Wistar rats were randomly assigned into six groups (n=6). The first group was only administered with normal saline and the second group only received ethyl alcohol 6 mL/kg/day·BW. The third and the fourth groups received ethyl alcohol 6 mL/kg/day·BW plus 167.5 and 335 mg/kg/day·BW saffron petal extract for 8 weeks. The fifth and the sixth groups received ethyl alcohol 6 mL/kg/day·BW for the first 8 weeks and were subsequently gavage fed on saffron extract for 167.5 and 335 mg/kg/day·BW, respectively, during the next 8 weeks. In the beginning and after the termination of the treatment, blood samples were collected from all rats. RESULTS: The LD50 of the extract was about 670 mg/kg. The HPLC results indicated that the extract contains important antioxidant ingredients. At the end of the study, the serum concentration of the inflammatory indices, renal enzymes, and hepatic enzymes experienced a significant reduction in all of the intervened groups compared to the negative control group (minimum significant difference: P<0.05) except for the treatment group 1. CONCLUSION: Based on the current results, the extract has a protective effect in a dosage-dependent way and greater protective roles were documented for higher dosages.
