INDICATORS OF CELL MEMBRANE PERMEABILITY AND ENDOGENOUS INTOXICATION IN RATS WITH CARBON TETRACHLORIDE-INDUCED LIVER INJURY AFTER EXPOSURE TO WAX MOTH LARVA TINCTURE

Abstract

Introduction. In recent years, a wide range of medicinal substances of different origin and chemical structure have been investigated for their potential hepatoprotective and antioxidant properties. The greatest interest and potential has been demonstrated by natural products. Numerous studies have indicated that wax moth larvae are a source of a complex of biologically active compounds that can potentially modulate individual biochemical processes in living organisms.

The aim of the work. The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of wax moth larva tincture on cell membrane permeability and endogenous intoxication in rats with liver damage caused by carbon tetrachloride.

Materials and methods. The study was conducted on 60 sexually mature, non-linear, white male rats, which were randomly divided into four groups. One group was administered carbon tetrachloride intraperitoneally twice (every other day) in the form of a 50% oil solution at a dose of 1 ml/kg body weight. Another group of rats, alongside carbon tetrachloride treatment, received a daily intragastric administration of a 30% tincture of wax moth larvae at a dose of 0.25 ml/kg body weight. One of the groups of rats received pantocrine, a medicinal product prepared from antler extract (young unossified deer antlers), intragastrically at a dose of 0.33 ml/kg of body weight daily for 14 days, as a comparison drug. The rats were removed from the experiment 4, 7, or 14 days after the final carbon tetrachloride administration (euthanised under thiopental anaesthesia). The permeability of cell membranes, particularly those of hepatocytes, in rats was assessed using the activity of aspartate and alanine aminotransferase and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase in blood serum and liver homogenate. The permeability of erythrocyte membranes was studied using the erythrocyte intoxication index in whole blood. The degree of endogenous intoxication was determined by measuring the average mass of molecules in both fractions.

Results and discussion. In rats affected by carbon tetrachloride, it was noted that the activity of ALT, AST and GGTP in the blood serum progressively increased over 14 days, significantly exceeding the levels observed in intact animals. At the same time, the activity of these enzymes in the livers of affected rats significantly decreased throughout the experiment. In the EII study, a significant increase in ALT, AST and GGTP activity was observed after poisoning rats with CC14. At the end of the experiment, an increase in CM1 content in the blood serum of carbon tetrachloride-affected rats by 2.5 times and an increase in CM2 content by 3 times was noted. Using tincture from wax moth larvae was effective in treating carbon tetrachloride hepatitis over the course of the 14-day study. Following its introduction into the affected organism, the activity of aminotransferases and gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase decreased in the blood serum and increased in the liver. The erythrocyte intoxication index also decreased in the blood of rats. The tincture under study led to a significant decrease in the concentration of medium-weight molecules in the blood serum of poisoned rats. The tincture of wax moth larvae was practically as effective as the drug Pantocrin. 

Conclusions. The results obtained prove the membrane-protective properties of the tincture from wax moth larvae. These properties may be due to its content of biologically active substances, particularly amino acids, proteins, lipids and fatty acids.