Postinor®-2 and Norinyl®-1/35 Impairs Hepatic Functions and Morphology in Rat Models: Evidences of Oxidative Stress as a Mechanism Pathway

Oral contraceptives such as Postinor®-2 and Norinyl®-1/35 are easily accessible contraceptive pills by women of reproductive age (15 – 49 years). The hepatic effects of these drugs were evaluated in rats. A total of 25 adult female Wistar rats purchased from the animal house, College of Health Sciences, Benue State University, Makurdi were randomly divided into five groups (1 – 5) of five rats each, and acclimatized for 14 days. After which the groups were treated as follows: group 1 (100mg/kg body weight of normal saline), group 2 (0.10mg/kg body weight of Postinor®-2), group 3 (0.20mg/kg body weight of Postinor®-2), group 4 (0.10mg/kg body weight of Norinyl®-1/35) and group 5 (0.20 mg/kg body weight of Norinyl®-1/35) for 14 days, and then the rats were fasted overnight and sacrificed. Blood samples and organs (liver) were collected for biochemical and histological analysis respectively. Postinor®-2 and Norinyl®-1/35 had no significant effect on the body weight and liver weight of rats across groups. For liver function enzymes; groups 2, 3, 4 and 5 all showed a statistically significant increase in mean compared to the control group for ALT. For ALP, only group 4 (86.69±2.54) showed a statistically significant increase in mean in comparison to group 1, while for AST, groups 2 and 4 showed a significant decrease in mean compared to group 1. For oxidative stress markers MDA and SOD, groups 2 and 3 showed a statistically significant increase and decrease respectively, when compared to the control group. Group 1 showed normal liver histology, while those in groups 2 and 3 showed a markedly distorted liver histology, with widely dilated sinusoids, degenerated endothelial cells with neutrophilic and lymphocytic infiltrates in portal spaces. the results obtained in this study pointed clearly that of the two drugs tested, Postinor®-2 had more deleterious effects than Norinyl®-1/35 on the liver of the adult female Wistar rats. It may therefore be inferred from the result of this study that Postinor®-2 should be taken according to prescription or should be avoided, because its frequent consumption and abuse can result in tissue damage in human organs.