Haematological and biochemical studies on the effect of diclofenac sodium on Wistar <i>Rattus norvegicus</i>

Abstract

Diclofenac sodium is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug commonly used worldwide for the treatment of inflammation and pain due to arthritis or other ailments in man and animals. Despite these benefits, there are concerns that this drug may have adverse effect on animal’s liver and kidneys. This work was designed to determine the effect of diclofenac sodium on blood components using haematological tests, as well as determine the hepatotoxic and nephrotoxic effects using biochemical assays. Twenty rats were randomly divided into four groups with 5 rats per group. The groups 2, 3, and 4 were assigned rats, intramuscularly administered diclofenac sodium at the doses of 49.05, 98.10 and 147.15 mg/kg body weight respectively, once a day for seven days while group 1 rats were given distilled water only, and served as control. The blood collected was tested by haemoanalyzer while the serum was assayed by biochemistry analyzer. The various doses of diclofenac sodium produced significant (p<0.05) decrease in the values of haemoglobin concentration, packed cell volume, red blood cells and white blood cells while there was significant (p<0.05) increase in the levels of serum alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, total bilirubin, urea, creatinine, total cholesterol, triglycerides and electrolytes. However, there was significant (p<0.05) decrease in the levels of serum total protein, albumin, glucose and HDLcholesterol. The results therefore showed that diclofenac sodium may have deleterious effect on animal tissues, resulting in hepatic and renal impairments at the given doses and treatment duration. So caution needs to be exercised in its administration, which should be limited to the lowest therapeutic doses, to prevent its harmful effect.

Keywords: Nephrotoxicity, hepatotoxicity, haematotoxicity, Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs