The effect of regular intake of Terminalia chebula on oxidative stress in mice originated from Salmonella typhimurium

Typhoid is endemic and in most developing countries remains a public health problem. Due to an increasing resistance to antibiotics and the limited scope of the vaccine the requirement is to explore the efficacy of natural plant products in the treatment of this disease. In this study we have evaluated the aqueous extract of Terminalia chebula in connection with the oxidative stress generated in Swiss albino mice by Salmonella typhimurium. Mice pretreated through the oral route with the water extract of T. chebula at a dose of 500 mg/kg (T500) body wt for a period of 30 d exhibited a full protection against 1X10 5 Colony forming units (CFU) of S. typhimurium injected intraperitonially. Mice pretreated with T500 for a period of 30 d followed with 50000 CFU of S. typhimurium showed a decrease in Xanthine oxidase activity by 31% and an increase in both glutathione peroxidase and glutathione reductase activity by 25% as compared to the infected saline treated control. The reduction in the oxidative stress indicated the effectiveness of the drug against S. typhimurium which can also be used against typhoid.