Effect of Grapefruit Juice on Aluminum-Induced Hepatotoxicity in Albino Rats: Histological, Ultrastructural and Histochemical Assessment

The present work studied the effect of grapefruit juice (Citrus) on the hepatotoxicity of AlCl3. Four groups of adult male albino rats were used. Group I contained 10 rats and remained as a control group; Group II: 10 rats were included and orally administered with grapefruit juice at a dose level of 27 ml/kg of body weight per day for 6 weeks; Group III: 10 rats were included and AlCl3 was administered orally at a dose level of 100 mg/kg of body weight per day for 6 weeks; Group IV: animals of this group (10 rats) were given a combination of AlCl3 and grapefruit juice per day for 6 weeks. At the end of the sixth week, the liver was processed for histological and ultrastructure studies. In addition, ALT and AST were determined in blood sera. The results showed that AlCl3 induced several histological alterations in the liver, including congestion of blood vessels, leucocytic infiltration, cytoplasmic vacuolation of hepatocytes and fatty infiltrations. Ultrastructural changes include the degeneration of mitochondria, RER swelling and pyknosis of the nuclei with an increase in fat droplets and lysosomes. The biochemical results showed an increase in ALT and AST activities in the AlCl3 group. However, the group of rats treated with AlCl3 and grapefruit juice improved the histological and ultrastructural changes, while the levels of ALT and AST were reduced. It was concluded in the results that grapefruit juice has a protective effect against hepatotoxicity of AlCl3 that can be attributed to the antioxidant properties of its components.