The Antioxidant Content and Protective Effect of Argan Oil and Syzygium aromaticum Essential Oil in Hydrogen Peroxide-Induced Biochemical and Histological Changes

Oxidative stress is an important etiology of chronic diseases and many studies have shown that natural products might alleviate oxidative stress-induced pathogenesis. The study aims to evaluate the effect of Argan oil and essential oil on hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂)-induced liver, brain and kidney tissue toxicity as well as biochemical changes in wistar rats. The antioxidant content of Argan oil and essential oil was studied with the use of gas chromatography. The animals received daily by gavage, for 21 days, either distilled water, essential oil, Argan oil, H₂O₂ alone, H₂O₂ and essential oil, or H₂O₂ and Argan oil. Blood samples were withdrawn on day 21 for the biochemical blood tests, and the kidney, liver and brain tissue samples were prepared for histopathology examination. The results showed that the content of antioxidant compounds in essential oil is higher than that found in Argan oil. H₂O₂ increased level of blood urea, liver enzymes, total cholesterol, Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL-C), Triglycerides (TG) and Very Low Density Lipoprotein (VLDL), and decreased the total protein, albumin and High Density Lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C). There was no significant effect on blood electrolyte or serum creatinine. The histopathology examination demonstrated that H₂O₂ induces dilatation in the central vein, inflammation and binucleation in the liver, congestion and hemorrhage in the brain, and congestion in the kidney. The H₂O₂-induced histopathological and biochemical changes have been significantly alleviated by essential oil or Argan oil. It is concluded that the Argan oil and especially the mixture of Argan oil with essential oil can reduce the oxidative damage caused by H₂O and this will pave the way to investigate the protective effects of these natural substances in the diseases attributed to the high oxidative stress.