Antioxidant, anti-apoptotic and anti-inflammatory effects of acacetin against deltamethrin-induced hepatotoxicity in mice: a biochemical and histopathological study

Agricultural pesticides are widely used all over the world. Relatively, Deltamethrin is a synthetic pyrethroid insecticide used in agriculture. Oxidative stress induction is one of its toxicity mechanisms. It has been found that natural compounds with antioxidant properties play an essential role in maintaining people's health against the dangers of chemicals such as pesticides. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the role of acacetin; a natural secondary metabolite, in deltamethrin-induced liver damage in rats.

Thirty-two male Balb/C mice were randomly divided into four groups (8 mice in each group) containing control, acacetin (50 mg/kg), deltamethrin (5 mg/kg/day), and deltamethrin+acacetin. The mice for 2 weeks received 0.01% Dimethyl sulfoxide or deltamethrin (5 mg/kg/day) by gavage and acacetin (50 mg/kg) intraperitoneally. The histopathological changes in liver tissue, serum levels of liver-related enzymes, tissue values of total antioxidant capacity, malondialdehyde, number of apoptotic cells, and inflammatory cytokines were evaluated.

The total antioxidant capacity of liver tissue in the deltamethrin group was significantly lower than the control group. In contrast, other parameters in the deltamethrin group were considerably higher than the control group (P<0.01). A significant increase in the total antioxidant capacity of liver tissue was seen in the deltamethrin+acacetin group compared to the deltamethrin group (P<0.01). At the same time, other studied parameters showed a significant decrease in this comparison (P<0.01).

Acacetin with its antioxidant, anti-apoptotic, and anti-inflammatory properties improves liver tissue damage caused by deltamethrin.