Indian Journal of Pharmaceutical Education and Research | Vol 53 | Issue 1 | Jan-Mar, 2019 127 Original Artcle www.ijper.org Effects of Alprazolam Administration on the Vital Organs of Adult Wister Albino Rats, Biochemical and Toxicological Studies Atiskumar Chattopadhyay 1, * Soumendra Darbar 2 , Srimoyee Saha 3 , Parimal Karmakar 4 1 Principal Secretary, Faculty Council of Science, Jadavpur University 188, Raja S C Mallick Road Kolkata-700032, West Bengal, INDIA. 2 Bioequivalence Study Centre, Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Jadavpur University, Kolkata 700 032, West Bengal, INDIA. 3 Department of Physics, Jadavpur University, Kolkata 700 032, West Bengal, INDIA. 4 Department of Life Science and Biotechnology, Jadavpur University, 188, Raja S.C. Mullick Road, Kolkata 700 032, West Bengal, INDIA. ABSTRACT Objective: Effect of Benzodiazepine group of drugs Alprazolam is investigated on different vital organs of Wister albino rat. Materials and Methods: The rats (n=6) were treated with normal doses of Alprazolam for two months along with a placebo group (n=6). After the treatment blood samples were collected and then the rats were sacrificed to collect the tissues of heart, liver and kidney. Results: The levels of enzymes ALT/SGPT, AST/SGOT and the signaling molecule NO were estimated. It was seen that the levels of all these three parameters were increased in all the treated rats. NO is a very important chemical messenger and cellular signaling molecule. Increased level of NO in the tissues of vital organs can modulate the normal physiological and cellular processes and homeostasis of the body in many ways. The NO mediated macrophage activation may also be influenced by the Benzodiazepine (BDZ) group of drugs. So, it’s a very important finding from the clinical point of view. Prolonged use of Alprazolam shows different contraindications and affects different vital organs and systems of the body. To know how the drug affects heart, liver and kidney the levels of two clinically important enzymes like ALT/ SGPT and AST/ SGOT were measured in serum and tissue extracts of rat. These two enzymes are very good indicator of cardiac and hepatic health. Results of the experiments show that levels of both the enzymes were increased in serum and tissue extracts, particularly in the tissue extract of heart. Conclusion: So, from our above studies it can be concluded that there is a relation between increase of NO and the increase of levels of clinically important enzymes. As a result, before frequent and prolonged administration of the drug Alprazolam, further detailed study is needed regarding its effect on different vital organs and cellular and physiological processes. Key words: Alprazolam (Alp), Cell death, Necrosis, Biochemical enzymes, Nitric Oxide (NO). DOI: 10.5530/ijper.53.1.17 Correspondence: Dr. Atiskumar Chattopadhyay, Principle Secretary, Faculty Council of Science, Jadavpur University 188, Raja S C Mallick Road Kolkata-700032, West Bengal, INDIA. Phone no: +91 9038044928 E-mail: atischatterjee@gmail. com INTRODUCTION In the recent decade, there has been increas- ing concern on the hazardous effects of drugs on different species. Benzodiazepines (BDZ) comprise a large group of psychoac- tive drugs that are massively used in human pharmaco-therapy for their anxiolytic and hypnotic anticonvulsant properties. 1 Alpra- zolam (Alp) is a member of BDZs group of drugs, widely used as antipsychotic and anxiolytic agent. They are used for the acute and sub-chronic treatment of insomnia and Submission Date: 20-06-2018; Revision Date: 14-08-2018; Accepted Date: 23-10-2018 agitated psychosis. 2 Once it was considered as a safe drug altogether. But for a decade or long reports are coming that Alprazolam can damage the vital organ like heart, liver, kidney etc. A vast amount of studies have shown that alprazolam in doses of 0.5 mg and higher induce changes in brain oxidative metabo- lism and impairs a variety of cognitive and psychomotor skills such as memory impairment, speed of responses, tracking