A Study of Indices of Hepatorenal Function in Female Wistar Rats Administered with Paracetamol/Methionine Combination – a Chronic Study

Paracetamol abuse at sub - toxic level is a common phenomenon in many parts of the developing world because of illiteracy, the aim of this study was to determine the effects of chronic abuse of sub-toxic doses of paracetamol on susceptible tissues, using indices of hepatorenal function as focus of investigation. Each study group consisted of eight female Wistar rats. Results of rats administered with 350 mg\kg BW paracetamol exhibited significant increases (p < 0.05) in the levels of renal indices (urea, creatinine) but not the hepatic indices (ALT, AST, ALP) (p > 0.05) compared with controls. Total protein and globulin also were significantly increased (p < 0.05) compared with the control. On the other hand, all the hepatorenal indices were not significantly different (p > 0.05) in paracetamol/methionine treatment group compared with control except total protein and globulin which were significantly higher (p < 0.05) This result suggests that chronic intoxication with paracetamol can cause an adaptive modulation of proteins responsible for liver functions and regeneration; proteins important for the recovery of liver. No such recovery or regeneration however was identified for the renal cells. Histology results of renal and hepatic sections confirm these observations. Moreover, the effectiveness of methionine as an agent capable of combating the toxic effects of acetaminophen was also evident.