Assessment of Antioxidant Indices after incorporating Crude Oil Contaminated Catfish and African Nutmeg ( Monodora Myrstica  ) Extracts into Rat Diet

This study was carried out to assess the antioxidant status of rats fed with diets of catfish contaminated by crude oil and aqueous, ethanol and diethyl ether extracts of Africa nutmeg. Thirty albino rats of weight 180 to 200 g were used for the experiment. They were divided into six groups of five rats each as follows: group 1: control, group 2: rats fed crude petroleum oil contaminated catfish diet (CPO-CCD) only, group 3: CPOCCD plus tween 80, group 4, 5, and 6 were given CPO-CCD and then treated with M. myristica water extract (MWE), M. myristica ethanol extract (MEE) and M. myristica diethyl ether extract (MDEE). The experiment lasted four weeks. The results showed significant (p < 0.05) decrease in blood reduced glutathione (GSH), blood oxidised glutathione (GSSG), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and increase malondialdehyde (MDA) level in the liver, kidney and brain of rats fed CPO-CCD only and CPO-CCD + tween 80 compared to the control. Administration of MWE, MEE and MDEE to the rats fed CPO-CCD significantly (p<0.05) increased the level of blood GSH, blood GSSG, SOD, CAT and decrease MDA level in the liver, kidney and brain when compared with the CPO-CCD only and CPO-CCD + Tween 80. No significant difference was observed in the blood GSH: GSSG ratio in all the experimental groups. In conclusion, M. myristica extracts exhibited beneficial effect on the antioxidant status by evading the oxidative insults elicited by the CPO-CCD intoxication in the various tissues.

Keywords
Petroleum; Diet; Antioxidants Indices; Monodora Myrstica; Africa nutmeg