17 Bioscience Research, Bioscience Research, 9(1): 17-22, 2012 Available online at www.isisn.org © ISISnet Publishers Print ISSN: 1811-9506 Online ISSN: 2218-3973 Study on antioxidant effects of cinnamon and garlic extract in liver, kidney and heart tissue of rat. S. Noori, M. Azmat, T. Mahboob. Clinical Biophysics Research Unit, Department of Biochemistry, University of Karachi, 75270, Pakistan. *Corresponding author The aim of present study was to investigate the antioxidant enzymes activity and oxidative status of Cinnamon and Garlic – treated rats. 12 male Wistar Albino rats were randomly divided into 3 groups (n=4). Group I: Control rats received distilled water; Group II: Received aqueous extract of Cinnamon (10 mg / kg b.w.) orally for 13 consecutive days; Group III: Received aqueous extract of Garlic (500 mg / kg b.w.) orally for 13 consecutive days. Oxidative status was measured by MDA and 4-HNE and antioxidant enzymes activity was measured by Catalase and GSH levels, meanwhile mean body weight, liver weight, kidney weight and heart weight was also measured. No changed in body weight was observed while decreased liver weight was observed in Garlic treated rats and decreased heart weight was observed in Cinnamon-treated rats. Liver MDA level was increased in Cinnamon –treated rats (P<0.05), while decreased MDA level was observed in kidney (P<0.05) and heart (P<0.05) tissues. Decreased level of MDA was also observed in heart tissue of Garlic-treated rats (P<0.05). 4-HNE level was increased in liver tissue (P<0.01) was observed in Cinnamon – treated rats while decreased 4-HNE was observed in heart tissue (P<0.01). Catalase was increased in kidney tissue of Garlic treated rats (P<0.05). Liver GSH level was increased in Cinnamon–treated rats (P< 0.05), while decreased GSH was observed in kidney tissue (P<0.05) and increased GSH liver tissue (P<0.01) was observed in Garlic – treated rats. Thus the study showed the antioxidant properties of Cinnamon and Garlic. Garlic showed potent antioxidant activity in liver and heart tissue and slightly in heart tissue while Cinnamon markedly showed antioxidant activity in liver tissue. Key words: Cinnamon, Garlic, antioxidant enzymes, lipid peroxidation Plants have been essential part of human society since the civilization started. Garlic is widely consumed in many cultures as spice and as condiment in many dishes. Several cultures use garlic for medicinal purposes. A plethora of publications are also available on the pharmacological properties of garlic and their beneficial health effects (Rahman, 2007; Kojuri et al. 2007). Garlic (Allium sativum L.) is used as a spice and medicinal herb. Most recent research on garlic has used garlic in the form of tablets, flesh, raw, boiled, cooked and dried (Gorinstein et al. 2006). Commercially available garlic preparations in the form of garlic oil, garlic powder and pills are widely used for certain therapeutic purposes, including lowering blood pressure and improving lipid profile (Elkayam et al. 2003). Garlic exhibits a wide range of properties including immunomodulatory hepatoprotective, antimutagenic and anticarcinogenic effects (Uma et al. 2007). Garlic and garlic extracts are believed to possess beneficial effects for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases (Rahman and Lowe, 2006; Steiner and Li, 2001) and modulates lipid metabolism (Steiner and Li, 2001). Several studies have also shown that garlic contains active hypocholesterolemic and hypoglycemic components, known as diallyl disulfide and dipropyl disulfide. It has also been reported that garlic supplements in human subjects lead to the increased resistance of low density lipoprotein to Research Article