Advances in Research

Paraquat is a herbicide, commonly used in the agricultural practices to prevent weed infestation. The Environmental Protection Agency in some countries has placed a restriction on paraquat and there is no identified record of chelating agent or antidote for paraquat. Oxidation of paraquat results in the of superoxides formation. Superoxides generation causes cellular damage. Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is a water soluble vitamin, with antioxidant potential. It is efficient in clearing free radicals, including hydroxyl radicals, peroxyl radicals and superoxide anion. E is a fat soluble vitamin but considered to be relatively safe when compared to other fat-soluble vitamins Empirical evidence has shown therapeutic efficacy of vitamin E hence its common use in therapeutics. Our goal is to determine the potency of combined effect of vit. E + C on paraquat induced toxicity in male albino rats. As much as 200 rats were obtained and parted into four main groups of 50 rats each. The groups were A, B C and D. The “A” group was not induced with paraquat; groups “B”, “C”, and “D” was induced every two weeks with 0.02g, 0.04g, and 0.06g of paraquat per kg of rat respectively for three months. Each of the main groups had subgroups. “A” group had “A₀” and “A_VEC” subgroups; “B” group had “B₀” and “B_VEC” subgroups; “C” group had “C₀” and “C_VEC” subgroups; “D” group had “D₀” and “D_VEC” subgroups. “A₀”, “B₀”, “C₀” and “D₀” subgroups were treated with paraquat only, while “A_VEC”, “B_VEC”, “C_VEC” and “D_VEC” were treated orally with 500mg of vitamin E and 2000mg/l of vitamin C medicated water every week. Comparison of intergroups A₀, B₀, C₀ and D₀ was statistically significant, p-value<0.05 in Hb and PCV. There was no statistical difference with respect to T-WBC, neutrophil, and lymphocytes across the groups. A_VEC, B_VEC, C_VEC and D_VEC intergroup comparison was statistically significant, p-value<0.05 in Hb and PCV, whereas in comparison with T-WBC, neutrophil, and lymphocytes were not statistically significant among the groups. The finding from this study has shown that a combination of vitamin E and C therapy is potent against paraquat toxicity in male albino rats on one month of weekly treatment and can be used to treat the condition on a weekly basis.