Panax ginseng extract ameliorates methotrexate-induced multi-organ damage via the regulation of oxidative stress

Abstract

Oxidative damage plays an important role in organ toxicities caused by methotrexate (MTX). This study aimed to determine the antioxidant effects of Panax ginseng (PxG) extract against MTX-induced liver, lung, ileum and kidney damage. Twenty-four Sprague Dawley male rats (weight 250-300 g) were used in the study. The animals were randomly separated into three groups: a) Control, b) MTX-treated (MTX) and c) MTX+PxG-treated (MTX+PxG) groups. MTX was administered intraperitoneally at 20 mg/kg, as a single dose to MTX and MTX+PxG groups. PxG was administered orally at 100 mg/kg to the MTX+PxG group for five days. Saline was given to the control and MTX groups for 5 days. At the end of the experiment, liver, lung, ileum, and kidney samples were obtained. Malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione (GSH) levels, superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione-S-transferase (GST) and tissue factor (TF) activities were determined in all tissues. In addition, histological examinations were done through light microscopy. GraphPad Prism 5v. was used for statistics, and p[removed].