New Insights on Nigella Sativa’s Protective Effect against High Fat Diet Induced Alteration in Small Intestine and Liver of Rats: a Biochemical and Histological Study
Abstract
Background: Excessive consumption of High Fat Diet (HFD) harmfully impacts body tissues and organs. Interestingly, there is a high concern towards the use of medicinal plants to ameliorate those harmful effects. Objectives: This study is aimed at investigating the effective possibility of Nigella Sativa (NS) seeds powder on liver and small intestine of the rats fed on HFD using biochemical, histological and morphometric techniques. Material and Methods: Eighteen adult male albino rats were randomly divided into three equal groups. Group I (control) was fed on standard rat pellets chow, Group II (HFD) was fed on standard diet mixed butter (20% fat of diet) and Group III (HFD + NS) was fed on HFD and concomitantly administrated Nigella sativa (300 mg/Kg daily orally) for 8 weeks. The biochemical study included lipid profile assessment and the histological study included paraffin sections of small intestine and liver stained by Hematoxylin and Eosin, Masson-trichrome for liver collagen and PAS for intestinal Goblet cells to evaluate the histological alteration. Quantitative statistical analysis of area percent of liver collagen content and goblet cells was done using Digital pro-image analysis. Results: HFD was associated with increased serum lipid profile. The histological analysis of hepatic sections revealed abundant fat deposition, inflammatory cell infiltrate, degeneration of hepatocytes with significant increase of collagen fibers as shown by image analysis. Inflammatory changes with significant reduction in the mean area percent of Goblet cells were observed in intestine of HFD group. NS intake significantly lowered serum level of total cholesterol, triglycerides and LDL, in concomitant with reversed HFD-induced histological alteration by decreasing hepatic collagen deposition and increasing intestinal goblet cells. Conclusion: Biochemical, histological and morphometric results provided further evidence that crude NS seeds powder can ameliorate high fat diet–induced alteration in liver and small intestine suggesting its beneficial use in preventive medicine.
