Toxicity of Nicotine and the Role of Emblica Officinalis in Rats (Rattus Norvegicus)

Emblica officinalis (Amla) is widely used in the Indian system of medicine and is believed to increase defence mechanism against diseases. It is one of the oriental traditional medicine was used for hepatic disorders from time immemorial. Nicotine is the most abundant component in cigarette smoke and it is first metabolized in the liver. The present study was carried out to investigate the role of Emblica officinalis on nicotine induced toxicity in rats. Animals were divided in to four groups of which each group containing six rats. Male wistar rats (Group - II, Group - III and Group - IV) were treated with oral nicotine diluted with drinking water for 32 days, while (Group - I) control was administrated with drinking water simultaneously. After 32 days, Group - III and Group - IV were administered with two different concentrations of Emblica officinalis (250 mg/kg, 500 mg/kg body weight) for 7 days. Group - II served as a toxicity group (5 mg/kg body weight of nicotine). Rats were sacrificed 24 hours after last day of administration (40th day), the blood serum was analyzed for kidney markers (urea & creatinine) and minerals (calcium and phosphorous). The rats treated with Nicotine showed a decreased in urea and creatinine, calcium and phosphorous content when compared with the control animals. On treatment with Emblica officinalis in 250 and 500 mg/kg body weight doses to rats showed a marked increase in urea and creatinine, calcium and phosphorous level when compared with the Nicotine treated rats. However, the higher dose (500 mg/kg) showed a pronounced effect when compared to 250 mg/kg body weight.