Effects of Gibberellic Acid on Thioacetamide-Induced Acute Liver Toxicity in Sprague-Dawley Rats

Gibberellic acid (GBA) is a natural plant growth hormone, controlling many developmental processes. In order to explore the protective effects of GBA against Thioacetamide (TAA)-induced acute liver toxicity, thirty male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly allocated into six groups (5 rats/group); Normal control (NC): received distilled water (DW) per os (p.o.), GBA only: received (20 mg/kg, p.o.) of GBA, TAA: received DW and TAA (350 mg/kg, i.p.), GBA 5: received GBA (5 mg/kg, p.o.) and TAA (350 mg/kg, i.p.), GBA 10: received GBA (10 mg/kg, p.o.) and TAA (350 mg/kg, i.p.), and GBA 20: received GBA (20 mg/kg, p.o.) and TAA (350 mg/kg, i.p.). Blood and plasma were collected for biochemical analysis while liver tissues were harvested and preserved for histological analysis. The results confirmed the TAA-induced acute liver toxicity by the significantly increased liver enzymes, hypoglycemia, hypoxia, polycythemia, and metabolic acidosis as compared with NC. However, pretreatment of TAA-intoxicated rats with GBA indicated the hepatoprotective effects by reducing liver enzyme levels significantly and alleviating hepatic lesions in a dose-dependent manner.