Prevention of fenitrothion induced hepatic toxicity by saponarin via modulating TLR4/MYD88, JAK1/STAT3 and NF-κB signaling pathways

Fenitrothion (FEN) is an organophosphate insecticidal agent that is considered as major source of organs toxicity. Saponarin (SAP) is a naturally occurring novel flavone that exhibits a wide range of medicinal properties. The current trial was conducted to evaluate the ameliorative potential of SAP against FEN instigated liver toxicity in rats. Thirty-two male albino rats were apportioned into four groups including control, FEN (10 mg/kg), FEN (10 mg/kg) + SAP (80 mg/kg), and SAP (80 mg/kg) alone treated group. It was revealed that FEN administration upregulated the gene expression of TNF-α, TLR4, IL-1β, MYD88, IL-6, TRAF6, COX-2, NF-κB, JAK1 and STAT3 while reducing the gene expression of IκB. Moreover, the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde (MDA) were increased while the activities of catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), superoxide dismutase (SOD), heme-oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and glutathione reductase (GSR) were decreased after FEN exposure. Furthermore, FEN administration notably escalated the levels of hepatic enzymes including alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) whereas reduced the levels of total proteins and albumin. Besides, FEN intake upregulated the levels of Caspase-9, Bax and Caspase-3 while reducing the levels of Bcl-2. Hepatic histology was impaired after FEN intoxication. Nonetheless, SAP treatment remarkably protected the normal state of liver via regulating abovementioned irregularities. Our in-silico analysis confirmed that SAP hold that potential to interact with binding pocket of these proteins, highlighting its ability as a therapeutic compound to alleviate FEN-induced liver damage.