Effect of administration of acetylsalicylic acid on phosphatase enzymes in liver of metabisulphite treated rats

Abstract

Membrane stabilization is an established attribute of most anti-inflammatory drugs. In this work the membrane
stabilization capability of acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) was investigated in the liver of metabisulphite insulted
experimental rats. Previous reports have shown that sodium metabisulphite administered to rats resulted in
labilization of plasma membrane of some rat tissues while acetylsalicylic acid, an anti-inflammatory drug, like certain
others, has been reported as membrane stabilizer. The organ of interest (liver) was collected into a 0.25 M sucrose and
the homogenate was prepared for enzyme analyses. The activities of the phosphatases were measured using
standard methods. Initial administration of metabisulphite alone showed an immediate significant decrease with
(P<0.05) in alkaline phosphatase activities. Loss in activities was recorded throughout the experimental period but
became insignificant after day 3. The activities of the phosphatases in acetylsalicylic acid treated rats were lower
when compared with the control group but not as obvious as with the metabisulphite treated rats. The combination
treatment (metabisulphite and acetyl salicyclic acid) gave a trend in activities that was in between the administration
of individual compounds. This study therefore has shown that acetylsalicyclic acid prevented disruption of liver
cellular membrane caused by the administration of sodium metabisulphite.