Protective effect of black tea infusion on aflatoxin-induced hepatotoxicity in mice

Aflatoxins are a group of mycotoxins produced by Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus and are potent inducers of hepatotoxicity.

The present study was carried out to investigate the effect of black tea infusion on aflatoxin-induced hepatotoxicity in male mice.

A 2% black tea infusion in drinking water was prepared and orally administered along with aflatoxin (750 and 1500 μg/kg body weight) for 30 days. Morphological investigation, body weight and organ weight calculations and histopathological analysis were carried out. Serum hepatic marker enzymes namely alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase were estimated.

The results clearly indicated that aflatoxin treatment for 30 days caused significant dose-dependent reduction in body weight and increase in liver weight. The activities of ALT and AST were found to be elevated while protein content was found to be decreased in aflatoxin-treated mice as compared to vehicle control. Histopathological analysis showed hepatocellular necrosis and cytoplasmic vacuolization along with fatty infiltration in toxin-treated animals. Results revealed significant (p < 0.05) restoration of aflatoxin-induced damages in body weight, organ weight, serum chemistry and histopathological features in aflatoxin plus black tea infusion administered mice in a dose dependant manner.

It is concluded from the present study that supplementation of black tea infusion can be beneficial in positively modulating aflatoxin-induced alterations in liver.