EFFECT OF KHAT (CATHA EDULIS) CONSUMPTION ON THE FUNCTIONS OF LIVER, KIDNEY AND LIPID PROFILE IN MALE POPULATION OF JAZAN REGION OF KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA

We have investigated the impact of Khat consumption on the liver and renal functions of the users of Jazan region of Saudi Arabia. The effect of Khat chewing has also been evaluated on the profile of lipids. This study was mainly conducted to examine the liver and kidney functions of the people using every day Khat. We collected blood from 50 Khat-users and 50 users living in this part of the country. Khat-users exhibited increased serum concentration of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) as compared to the non-users, control. The concentration of serum creatinine, urea and uric acid was significantly higher in khat users than the healthy non-users. Total fats and triglycerides level was also quite high in khat consuming people while HDL and LDL values were low as compared to the control non-users. In conclusion, we can say that components present in Khat are responsible for hepatic and nephrotoxicity in male Khat users. Abbreviations: AST, Aspartate Aminotransferase; ALT, Alanine Aminotransferase; ALP, Alkaline Phosphatase; TB, Total Bilirubin; A, Albumin; Tc, Total Cholesterol; LDL-c, Low Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol; HDL-c, High Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol; TGs, Triglycerides.