The Role of Resveratrol as A Protector Against the Toxicopathological Effects of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles on Physiological and Histological Parameters In Vivo

Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) have specific properties enabling them to be a drug delivery system and to be incorporated into animal feed. Toxicity has received much attention due to nanoparticles for their natural and therapeutic risks. This experiment investigated the protective effects of resveratrol on liver function and histological damage from ZnONPs. Resveratrol was extracted from grape skins by analytical methods while nano zinc was prepared bioactively from plant extracts. For this investigation, 24 albino rats were utilized and divided into four groups of six rats each. Group 1 (control) did not receive any treatment, group 2 received 50 mg/kg of ZnONPs and 100 µg/kg resveratrol, group 3 received 50 mg/kg of ZnONPs and 150 µg/kg of resveratrol, and group 4 received only 50 mg/kg of ZnONPs. The rats were euthanized and their blood samples collected by cardiac puncture for analysis at the end of the experiment. Results from the ZnONPs group showed a significant increase in liver enzymes (such as ALT and AST) and oxidative stress indicators compared to the control group (P<0.05). Histological examination confirmed severe damage, manifested by sinusoidal dilatation and infiltration of inflammatory cells in the liver. In contrast, co-treatment with resveratrol significantly decreased these biomarkers, returning them to near-normal levels (P<0.05 in most measurements). The samples also showed a significant improvement in liver structure and a reduction in inflammatory damage indicators. However, administering resveratrol in combination with ZnONPs significantly reduced the activity levels of these enzymes. These results indicate that treatment with ZnONPs led to certain changes or abnormalities, such as having a protective effect on liver tissues, mitigating the observed changes. Also, protection of hepatocytes was observed from deleterious effects solely due to cellular degeneration and temporal blockage during the zinc nanoparticle treatment. Therefore, it can be concluded that resveratrol can effectively prevent liver dysfunction in mice and protect their cells from symptoms caused by ZnONPs