Abstract

Potassium bromate (KBrO₃) is an oxidizing agent used in industries for the formation of hair solution, cosmetics and as a by product during ozonation of water, causes infections in kidney and has been classified as 2B group toxic chemical a probable human carcinogen. In the present study, Sonchus asper non polar n-hexane extract (SAHE) is used against KBrO₃induced nephrotoxicity in rats. During this study 32 male albino rats were randomly divided into 4 groups and experiment was proceeded for 6 weeks. Results revealed that induction of KBrO₃ in rats significantly reduced activities of antioxidant enzymes (p<0.01) while enhanced NORs/cell and telomerase enzyme activity and lipid peroxidation which were markedly improved by co-treatment of SAHE. KBrO₃ also considerably distorted (p<0.01) DNA fragmentation in kidney comparatively to control. These changes are noticeably (p<0.01)reimbursed with treatment of SAHE. These data proved that SAHE extract has ability of DNA fragmentation repairing, reduces rgyrophilic nucleolar organiser regions  (AgNORS), restoring enzyme activity and telomerase enzymes, which might be due to the presence of plant bioactive compounds.

Key words: Sonchus asper; DNA fragmentation, argyrophilic nucleolar organiser regions (AgNORs), telomerase enzyme inhibition, antioxidant enzymes.