IJPCBS 2014, 4(2), 234-240 Ehtishamul Haq et al. ISSN: 2249-9504 234 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICAL, CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES Available online at www.ijpcbs.com ARNEBIA BENTHAMII AGGRAVATES POTASSIUM DICHROMATE INDUCED HEPATOTOXICITY IN WISTAR RATS Zeenat Hamid, Insha Zahoor and Ehtishamul Haq * Department of Biotechnology, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India. INTRODUCTION Herbal remedies are being used for the treatment of various diseases and dysfunctions since ancient times. Recent research focuses on the identification of the novel, natural and safe therapies using medicinal plants and several in- vitro and in-vivo pre-clinical studies have validated the therapeutical value of newly identified phytochemicals. The use of traditional herbal medicines is increasing day by day and is being appreciated with Western models of integrative health sciences 1 . Herbal medicines may prove to be a successful therapy where conventional medicines fail, as herbal extracts function through multi-target mechanisms in contrast to the conventional medicines 2 . However, these herbal extracts may sometimes cause adverse effects due the presence of certain toxic components in them. In a survey in Iceland regarding adverse effects of herbal medicines, Herbalife products were seen to be involved in the most cases of hepatotoxicity. For this reason, use of some of the herbal remedies has been restricted now. In the present study, we used potassium dichromate induced toxicity as a model to investigate the effect of Arnebia extract on liver and kidneys. Chromium imparts tissue damaging effect and is a well known potent hepatotoxin and nephrotoxin. Potassium dichromate finds extensive use in metallurgy, chrome plating, chemical industry, textile industry, wood preservation, photography Research Article ABSTRACT Liver and kidneys are exposed to a lot of exogenous and endogenous oxidants. Potassium dichromate is a potent hepatotoxic and nephrotoxic agent. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) and consequent peroxidative damage caused by dichromate are considered to be the main mechanisms leading to hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity. The present investigation aims at assessing the effect of aqueous extract of Arnebia benthamii on dichromate induced hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity in a rat model. The effect was seen by comparing the serum hepatic and renal marker levels in treated and toxic model with control as an index for hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity. Hepatic markers, alkaline phosphatase, alanine and aspartate aminotransferases were found to be significantly increased in the serum of rats treated with dichromate (10 mg/kg b.w, i.p.), suggesting hepatic damage. Likewise, marked increase in kidney function markers i.e., BUN and creatinine were observed in dichromate administered rats. Pre-treatment with aqueous extract of Arnebia benthamii further increased the levels of serum markers for hepatotoxicity, providing an insight towards its effect as hepatotoxic. However, no significant change in kidney function markers was observed in treated group as compared to the toxic group. In conclusion, our study suggests that use of Arnebia benthamii may worsen hepatic health, thus caution need to be taken while using it as folklore medicine. Keywords: Nephrotoxicity, Hepatotoxicity, Potassium dichromate, Arnebia benthamii.