Effects of Organic Turmeric on Liver Integrity and Oxidative Stress of the Brain in Rabbits Exposed to Ultraviolet Radiation

This project investigated the effects of organic turmeric on the liver and oxidative stress of the brain in rabbit acutely exposed to ultraviolet radiation. Thirty five weaned rabbits between 8-10 weeks of age, randomly allocated to control (A) and five (5) treatments: B, C, D, E and F were used for this experiment. Treatment A: fed organic feed without turmeric inclusion and not radiated, Treatment B: fed diet supplemented with 2% turmeric as its constituents but not radiated, Treatment C: fed organic feed without turmeric inclusion before but after radiation, Treatment D: fed organic feed without turmeric inclusion before and after radiation. Treatment E: fed diet supplemented with 2% turmeric before but not after radiation. Treatment F: fed diet supplemented with 2% turmeric before and after radiation. There were significant (p<0.05) differences in superoxide dismutase, catalase and melondialdehyde. Histological studies reveals that the treatments radiated showed structural differences from the control. Liver section in Treatment D showed portal triad infiltrated by lymphocytes with less vacuolar degeneration. The liver damage was mild in Treatments C and E. The histology of rabbits in treatment A and F revealed normal liver hepatocytes and portal triad. It was concluded that ultraviolet (UV) radiation resulted in oxidative stress in the brain and feeding of 2% organic turmeric supplemented diet before and after exposure to radiation seen to have be effective against oxidative damages caused by ultraviolet radiation. Also, UV radiation has detrimental effect on the liver and organic turmeric had hepatoprotective and antioxidant properties.