THE AMELIORATIVE ROLE OF GINGER ADMINISTRATION AGAINST GABAPENTIN-INDUCED HEPATOTOXICITY IN RAT FETUSES

Gamal M. Badawy*, Marwa N. Atallah and Saber A. Sakr

ABSTRACT

Objective: To investigate the possible side effects of prenatal exposure to the antiepileptic drug gabapentin (GBP) on the liver during the organogenesis phase of the rat embryonic development and to examine the possible ameliorative role of ginger. Methods: Three integrated approaches namely, histological, immuno-histochemical and ultrastructural were adopted. Results: Fetuses maternally injected with GBP displayed congested central vein, disruption of normal architecture and vacuolation of the hepatocytes. The expression of Bcl-2 in the cytoplasm of hepatocytes was remarkably decreased, while the expression of Caspase-3 was increased. At the ultrastructural level, the hepatocytes had irregular shaped and shrunken nuclei. The cytoplasm appeared rarefied, vacuolated and with disrupted organelles. Oral injection of ginger after GBP resulted in evident amelioration at all the investigated levels. Conclusions: The use of GBP as antiepileptic drug should be treated with caution during pregnancy and ginger is recommended to be taken in parallel for its ameliorative role in this regard.

Keywords: Gabapentin, Adverse effects, Ginger, Amelioration, Fetal development, Liver.