The Effect of Different Doses of Black Caraway (Carum carvi L.) Oil on the Liver Enzymes of Alloxan-Induced Diabetic Rats

The effect of different doses of Black caraway oil on the Liver enzymes (i.e., alkaline phosphatase, aspartate amino transferase and alanine amino transferase) of alloxan-induced diabetic rats was studied. Forty white male albino rats of the winster strain weighing between 125-215 g were used. They were divided into eight groups. Diabetes was induced in the experimental rats with alloxan (70 mg kg-1 body weight). Group 1 rats served as the normal control, group II served as the caraway control whereas group III served as the diabetic control. Groups IV to VIII were the test groups. They were administered various doses of caraway oil ranging from 5, 10, 20, 40 and 80 mg kg-1 body weight respectively. The experiment lasted for a period of 10 weeks. The following liver enzymes were assayed: Aspartate Amino Transferase (ASAT), Alanine Amino Transferase (ALAT) and alkaline phosphatase. Histopathology was also done for the liver. The results showed that the levels of the liver marker enzymes were significantly high (p<0.05) in the treatment groups administered with black caraway oil at 20, 40 and 80 mg kg-1 body weight. This is also evident in the histopathological analysis of the liver. Due to the fact that the liver marker enzymes were not significantly elevated at 10 mg kg-1 body weight and also that the histopathology of the liver did not show any sign of tissue damage at that concentration, the black caraway oil is said to be safe at 10 mg kg-1 body weight.