Hassan Ali Laftaa1, Manal AbdulKhaliq Ibrahim2, Manal Nasser Al-Hayder2
1Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, University of Al-Muthana,; 2Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, University of Basra, Basra, Iraq.For correspondence:- Manal Al-Hayder Email:
Received: 27 April 2026 Accepted: 18 July 2026 Published: 31 July 2026
Citation: Laftaa HA, Ibrahim MA, Al-Hayder MN. Effect of Basrah bee honey and n-acetylcysteine against citalopram hepatotoxicity. Trop J Pharm Res 2026; 25(7):995-1002 doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/tjpr.v25i7.12
© 2026 The authors.
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Purpose: To investigate the effects of Basra bee honey and N-acetylcysteine as monotherapies and in combination against citalopram hepatotoxicity. Methods: A total of 30 healthy female albino Wistar rats were equally and randomly divided into five groups (n = 6). Group 1 received distilled water (control group), group 2 received citalopram (10 mg/kg/day), group 3 received Basra bee honey (150 mg/kg/day) and citalopram (10 mg/kg/day), group 4 received N-acetylcysteine (200 mg/kg/day) and citalopram (10 mg/kg/day), group 5 received Basra bee honey (150 mg/kg/day), N-acetylcysteine (200 mg/kg/day) and citalopram (10 mg/kg/day) via oral route. After 30 days, the rats were sacrificed under diethyl ether anaesthesia. Liver tissue homogenate and serum were taken, and tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), interleukin-10 (IL-10), and glutathione (GSH) and malondialdehyde (MDA) were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results: Group 2 demonstrated significantly higher MDA, TNF-α, and IL-1β, and lower GSH and IL-10 compared to control (p < 0.05). Furthermore, group 5 showed significantly lower MDA, serum and tissue TNF-α, and IL-1β (p < 0.05) compared to control. Furthermore, GSH, serum and tissue IL-10 were significantly higher in group 5 compared to control (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Combination of Basra bee honey and N-acetylcysteine significantly reverses citalopram induced hepatotoxicity in rats.
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