The effect of rutin on methotrexate-induced oxidative hepatic damage in rat

In this study, it was aimed to investigate the possible protective effects of rutin on methotrexate-induced oxidative hepatic damage in rat. Twenty-four Wistar Albino rats (2 months old, male) were divided randomly into four groups (n = 6) as Control (C), Methotrexate (M), Rutin (R), Methotrexate and Rutin (MR). C and M received distilled water, R and MR groups received rutin (50 mg/kg/day), orally, for fifteen days. M and MR groups were administered methotrexate (20 mg/kg) intraperitoneally (i.p.) and C and R groups were administered saline (0.9 %) i.p. on the eighth day of the study. Rats were sacrificed at the sixteenth day and liver tissues were removed. The levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), vitamin C, total glutathione (tGSH) and the activities of glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) were determined colorimetrically. MDA levels increased and vitamin C levels decreased in the M group compared to other groups (p<0.001). tGSH levels reduced in both M and MR groups compared to C group (p<0.05). A significant decrease in M group NADPH levels and GPx activity compared to C group (p<0.001) was observed. NADPH levels of R group were found to be higher than M group and lower than C group (p<0.001). In addition, it was determined that the activities of GPx in R and MR groups were lower than C and M groups (p<0.001). In this study, it was determined that methotrexate caused oxidative damage in liver and rutin had protective and ameliorating effects on methotrexate-induced hepatic damage. Consequently, it may be suggested that rutin may be useful in reducing the side effects of methotrexate, applied for chemotherapy.