POSSIBLE HAZARDS ON GASTROINTESTINAL SYSTEM AND TOTAL GUT BACTERIAL COLONY DUE TO BOUNDLESS USE OF HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE DURING COVID ERA: A SIX DAYS EXPOSURE STUDY ON MALE ALBINO RATS

Purpose: Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), a drug of quinolone group, used in clinical settings to treat malaria. Lately, there has been interest in its potential efficacy against coronavirus, with several proposed mechanisms. It has been demonstrated to limit the replication of sars-cov-2 virus in vitro but clinical trials found ineffective for this purpose and a possible risk being that dangerous side effects may arise. So, this study is designed to give a light on its possible side effects on smooth muscle movement, gut bacterial composition. Methods: Ten male eight weeks old albino rats were obtained and randomly divided into two groups control and treated with five animals each. Rats of treated group received HCQ 33mg/kg/day for six consecutive days and after that faecal parameters, smooth muscle contractility test, total bacterial colony count were estimated from both groups. Results: From the analysis we found decreased faecal count and increased faecal water content of the treated rats than in control. Colonic and Gastro-intestinal transit time was significantly increased in the treated rats and abnormalities were seen in small intestinal muscle contractility. Faecal and small intestinal total bacterial count was significantly lowered in HCQ-treated rats. Conclusion: In conclusion, it can be said that HCQ might be related to adverse consequences on normal gut movements and its bacterial community. In addition, we can conclude that HCQ might induce decreased intestinal motility led to the resulting detrimental effects on normal gut bacterial composition.