Therapeutic effects of milk thistle and turmeric compared with pioglitazone on biochemical and histopathological alterations in fatty liver of male rats

The proposed analysis attempted to explore the efficacy of milk thistle alone and combined with turmeric compared with pioglitazone for fatty liver management. The study began with 25 male albinos (Sprague Dawley) weighing an average of 117 ± 5g. The rats were randomly divided into five groups, each consisting of five rats: one for negative control and four for fatty-liver experimental groups. All experimental rats were placed on a high-fat diet for a period of 30 days with oxytetracycline i/p injections (120 mg/kg) for three consecutive days (days 28-30) to develop fatty liver. The rats were then relabeled for treatment with a drug, 5% milk thistle, or a combination of 5% milk thistle and turmeric. The total duration of this study was 60 days, with the first 30 days devoted to inducing fatty liver and another 30 days devoted to treatment.Analysis of results revealed that the group which received milk thistle supplementation alongside turmeric showed a significant improvement in weight gain and percentage, food intake, food efficiency ratio, serum total protein & globulin, HDL cholesterol, and antioxidant reserve including superoxide dismutase & total antioxidant reserve. On the other hand, the serum levels of liver enzymes and function indicators of the kidney, total lipids, total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL cholesterol, VLDL cholesterol, malondialdehyde, and glucose were lower than that of the positive control group.