Sea Buckthorn Berry Seed Oil: A Remedy for Depleted Cellular Antioxidants in Cyclophosphamide-induced Oxidative Stress in BALB/c Mice

Background: Cyclophosphamide is a chemotherapeutic and immunosuppressive drug, however, its usage is constrained by the development of dose-dependent side effects, like hepatotoxicity and hemorrhagic cystitis. The proposed mechanism of these side effects is oxidative stress. This study focuses on the role of sea buckthorn seed oil, which is high in antioxidants, in reducing oxidative stress caused by cyclophosphamide. Objective: To ascertain how sea buckthorn berry seed oil affects the serum levels of antioxidant enzymes and lipid peroxidation marker in BALB/c mice under oxidative stress brought on by cyclophosphamide. Study type, settings & duration: This quasi-experimental study was carried out at the Department of Physiology, Foundation University School of Health Sciences, Islamabad from February to April 2018. Methodology: It was a quasi-experimental animal study. Thirty healthy male BALB/c mice were divided into three groups of 10 each. Group-1 served as negative control, group-2 was positive control and received cyclophosphamide (25 mg/kg body weight) intraperitoneally for 10 consecutive days. Group-3 was co-administered cyclophosphamide (same dose and route) with sea buckthorn berry seed oil (40 mg/kg body weight) orally for ten days. All animals were sacrificed on the 11th day. Serum levels of antioxidant enzymes and malondialdehyde as stress biomarkers were assayed in all three groups. Results: Malondialdehyde levels rose while antioxidant enzyme levels, including glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, and catalase, fell in group-2 receiving cyclophosphamide (p <0.05). The deviation from the control group values was partially mitigated by the co-administration of sea buckthorn berry seed oil in group-3..........