Protective Role of Commiphora molmol Extract against Liver and Kidney Toxicity Induced by Carbon Tetrachloride in Mice

Purpose: To explore the protective role of Mirazid (R) (MRZ), a mixture extracted from Commiphora molmol Engler (Burseraceae), against toxicity induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4). Method: Forty male Swiss albino mice were divided into 4 groups. Group 1 was control and included mice which were injected with normal saline; group 2 was positive control and included mice that had no treatment for 17 days followed by intraperitoneal (i.p) injection of 200 mg/kg/day MRZ for 7 consecutive days; groups 3 and 4 included mice which were injected intraperitoneally (i.p) with 0.8 mL/kg of 30 % CCl4 on days 1, 4, 7, 10, 13 and 16; animals of group 4 were then post treated with 200 mg/kg/day MRZ for 7 consecutive days. At the end of the experiment, the mice were euthanized and subjected to a complete necropsy. Hematological and biochemical parameters were assessed. To estimate the histological changes, liver and kidney sections were exposed to microscopic examination. Results: The levels of leucocytes, granulocytes, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), total bilirubin, urea, creatinine, cholesterol and triglycerides showed a significant increase (p < 0.05) while the levels of lymphocytes, platelets counts, total protein and albumin showed a significant decrease (p < 0.05) in CCl4-injected mice when compared with the control groups, respectively. Histological observation of the liver and kidney showed necrotic areas with cellular infiltration and atrophied renal glomerulei with degenerated renal tubule lining, respectively. Mice that were treated with MRZ after CCl4 showed that the levels of lymphocytes, ALT, AST and albumin had insignificant change (p > 0.05) compared with the control groups, respectively. Conclusion: MRZ partially ameliorates the toxicity induced by CCl4 in mice by improving ALT, AST and protein profiles. Therefore, further investigations are required to figure out its antioxidant potential in order to ascertain if it can be used as an antioxidant drug.