SELECTED HEPATIC ANTIOXIDANT BIOMARKERS IN CUCURBITA PEPO SEED OIL PROPHYLAXIS OF METHOTREXATE TOXICITY IN FEMALE WISTAR RATS

This research aimed to evaluate the prophylactical effect of Cucurbita pepo seed oil against methotrexate-induced oxidative stress in Wistar rats. Thirty (30) male Wistar rats were distributed into five groups (n=6) according to body weight. Group I (NC) was the normal control, group II (MTX) was the methotrexate group, while groups III, IV and V orally received pumpkin seed oil (PSO) for 10 mL/kgbw, 7.5mL/kgbw and 5mL/kgbw respectively for 10 days. On the 8th day of the experiment, groups II, III, IV and V were injected with 20mg/kg bw of methotrexate. All the animals were given rat chow and drinking water ad libitum. At the expiration of the animal experimentation, the animals were subjected to an overnight fast. During sample collection anesthesia was first performed on all the experimental animals after which the animals were sacrificed by cervical dislocation under mild anesthesia, the liver was harvested for biochemical analysis and histological evaluation. The results of the animal experimentation revealed that the liver superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase activities of the female rats were significantly (p