EFFECTS OF PHENOLIC-RICH CHROMOLAENA ODORATA LEAF EXTRACT ON HEPATIC OXIDATIVE STRESS STATUS OF RAT EXPOSED TO LOW LEVEL PESTICIDES MIXTURE

ABSTRACT Pesticides are important and useful in Agriculture for the control of pests, insects, weeds, and ultimately to allow optimum yields. However, they caused undesirable effects on humans upon exposure. Chromolaena Odorata commonly known as Siam weed is a tropical weed which possesses anticancer, antidiabetic, antihepatotoxic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and wound-healing properties. The objective of this study is to attempt the use of Chromolaena Odorata as a therapeutic and protective agent against the oxidative toxicity accrued by exposure to pesticides mixture.Twenty-eight Male Wistar rats of average weight 150g were used in this study, The rats were split into four groups of seven namely the Group 1 (Control), Group 2 (Chromolaena Odorata, 100mg/kg body weight), Group 3 (Butachlor, Mancozeb, and Dichlorvos at one-fiftieth LD50), and Group 4 (Pesticide mixture + Chromolaena Odorata). The treatment process lasted for 14 days after which the rats were sacrificed and liver was harvested for further biochemical analysis. Superoxide Dismutase (SOD), Malondialdehyde (MDA), Glutathione Peroxidase (GPX), Glutathione (GSH), and Catalase (CAT) were all determined from the liver tissues. Treatment with Chromolaena Odorata showed a significant decrease in the activity of Superoxide Dismutase and Catalase by about 50 percent, however the Pesticide Mixture group showed an increase in SOD and Catalase activity by more than 50 percent, the CO + PM group, on the other hand showed a little increase compared to the Control group. There was a decrease of about 3.5-fold in Malondialdehyde levels in the Chromolaena Odorata group compared to the Control, however there was minor decrease in the MDA levels in the Pesticide Mixture and the CO+PM group. The CO group showed a five-fold decrease in Glutathione Peroxidase and Glutathione activities compared to the Control group, while the PM and CO+PM groups showed slight decrease and increase respectively. In conclusion, Chromolaena Odorata displayed an evident potential to ameliorate the level of oxidative stress or damage, and possibly act as an exogenous source of antioxidant in the case of deficient endogenous antioxidants due to hepatic oxidative stress caused by exposure to these Pesticides.