The ameliorative effects of metformin and taurine against thioacetamide hepatotoxicity in rats

The main objective of this research was to investigate the therapeutic, anti-inflammatory, and histological effects of metformin and taurine, both alone and in combination, against thioacetamide (TAA)-induced hepatotoxicity in rats. The study included forty adult male Swiss albino rats, which were divided into five groups: Group I provided the control group. Group II (TAA group) rats received injections of TAA (200 mg/kg b.wt /3 times/week, i.p.) for six weeks. Group III (TAA + metformin) rats received administration of metformin (200 mg/kg/day, p.o.) for five weeks. Group IV (TAA + taurine) rats received injections of taurine (100 mg/kg/day, i.p.) for five weeks, while Group V (TAA + metformin + taurine) rats received daily intraperitoneal injections and oral administration of the medication for five weeks. Inflammation and changes in liver function are hallmarks of TAA-induced hepatotoxicity. Our findings demonstrated that the greatly improved liver dysfunction might be attributed to the effects of metformin and taurine. Furthermore, a combination of metformin and taurine markedly inhibited inflammatory responses, as indicated by the decreased levels of the inflammatory cytokine IL-6. The biochemical results were confirmed by the histological analyses of the liver tissues. Post-treatments of metformin and taurine might have crucial potential and synergistic effects against TAA-induced hepatotoxicity.