Protective Effect of Selenium against Methotrexate Induced Hepatotoxicity

Introduction: The liver is the largest internal organ by percent weight in the human body and has crucial functions, including cholesterol production, intermediary metabolism, hormone synthesis, bile and urea production and drug detoxification.
Objectives: The main objective of the study is to analyse the Protective effect of selenium against methotrexate induced hepatotoxicity in mice.
Material and methods: This descriptive study was conducted in Jinnah Hospital Lahore during 2020. Selenium and all chemical reagents of analytical grades were purchased from Sigma Chemical Co. (St. Louis, Mo, USA). The dose of MTX diluted in water (50% 1ml/kg of body weight of Mice were applied twice a week for six weeks to induced hepatocellular injury determined by liver function tests. The mice were maintained under pathogen-free conditions with air conditioning, a 12-hr light/12-hr dark cycle, and %55 humidity.
Results: Results shows that a significant increase in serum enzymes (ALT, AST, ALP) and significant decrease in total protein was observed in all groups receiving MTX for the induction of hepatic injury. Mice receiving combination therapy of selenium along with MTX shows a time course recovery towards normalcy. The highest value of ALT (94.83 IU/L), AST (73.21 IU/L) and ALP (157 IU/L) were recorded in Mice receiving MTX for hepatic injury. The lowest values (63.67, 51.49 and 139.95 IU/L) was recorded in group treated with MTX+ Se (200mg/kg b.w) but both the groups differed non significantly and shows the same trend but a decreasing trend in serum enzymes (ALT 32.85%), (AST 29.67%) and (ALP 11.40%).
Conclusion: It is concluded that selenium supplementation in MTX treated rats elicited a reduction in the toxic effects of the pesticide by improving the studied parameters, which was confirmed by the biochemical analysis of serum.