Abstract:
Sterigmatocystin is a bifuran mycotoxin, structurally related to aflatoxins, which
has a high incidence in plant products from the temperate-continental zone. The present study
is part of a more ample experiment that deals with the reduction of this mycotoxin toxicity,
which has been included in the first degree carcinogenic category. Taking into account the
hypothesis that sterigmatocystin behaves as a free radical coming from epoxysterigmatocystin,
the experiment pointed out the use of some pharmaceutical preparations
containing Hippophäe rhamnoides. The experiment included four groups of five white rats,
each. The first group was the control one, while the second one served for the experimental
reproduction of chronic sterigmatocystin intoxication. Besides the sterigmatocystin dose, the
animals from the third group were given ascorbic acid, a non-enzymatic antioxidant. The
fourth group was treated with Hippophäe fructus, along with the sterigmatocystin dose. The
animals were then slaughtered, and the blood was used for biochemical investigations with
important relevance upon the hepatic function and integrity. The investigated hepatic cytolysis
indices, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, and lactate dehydrogenase
from blood samples emphasized a significant improvement of the liver integrity for the group
of animals treated with Hippophäe fructus. The results obtained for the biochemical
parameters accountable for the liver proteosynthetic capacity (acetyl cholinesterase and total
protein) did not suggest an efficient protective effect of the investigated plant preparation.
Plant preparations containing Hipophäe rhamnoides exerted a positive effect on liver
integrity, while its benefits on the proteosynthetic function of the liver were insignificant.
