Protective Effect of Naringin in L-arginine-induced Acute Pancreatitis in Wistar Rats

Acute pancreatitis, a non-infectious inflammatory disorder of the pancreas, is not only the most common cause of hospitalization among gastrointestinal diseases in many countries but up to 20% of patients may experience morbidity and mortality. Naringin is a common flavonoid that is found in many fruits such as oranges and tomatoes, and evidence revealed its use in the prevention and treatment of many diseases due to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. Hence, this study was conducted to investigate the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects of naringin in the pancreatitis model in rats.

In this experimental study, sixty male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 4 equal groups. In the control group, normal saline was injected intraperitoneally (IP). In the sham and experimental groups, pancreatitis was induced with a dose of 3.2 g/kg body weight of L-arginine IP, twice with a time interval of one hour. Rats of low dose (E-L) and high dose (E-H) groups were treated with 200 and 500 mg/kg of naringin IP, 30 minutes before L-arginine administration, respectively. Serum lipase and amylase along with pancreatic IL-10, IL-1β, and TNF-α were measured. Also, to evaluate oxidative stress, pancreatic superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione (GSH), malondialdehyde (MDA), and myeloperoxidase (MPO) were evaluated. In addition, the histopathological study was performed with morphological examination.

Sham rats exhibited increased levels of amylase and lipases compared to controls. Naringin administration significantly reduced these levels in the experimental groups. In addition, naringin decreased MDA and MPO levels and increased SOD and GSH activities in the E-L and E-H groups. TNF-α and IL-1β levels were higher in the sham group but reduced with naringin treatment. Naringin also increased IL-10 levels in a dose-dependent manner. Histopathological analysis showed that naringin reduced tissue damage severity in a dose-dependent manner.

Based on the results obtained in the study, naringin administration effectively reduced pancreas enzyme activity, and increased antioxidant enzyme activities in rats with induced pancreatitis. Naringin also exhibited anti-inflammatory effects by decreasing TNF-α and IL-1β levels while increasing IL-10 levels in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, the histopathological analysis demonstrated that naringin had protective effects against tissue damage caused by pancreatitis, showing a dose-dependent reduction in the severity of edema, inflammation, and necrosis. These findings suggest that naringin holds promise as a potential therapeutic agent for managing pancreatitis-related complications.