| SHORT COMMUNICATION |
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| Year : 1998 | Volume
: 30
| Issue : 5 | Page : 339-342 |
Aminotransferase activity in serum, liver and heart tissue of rats exposed to theobromine
MU Eteng, PE Ebong, RR Ettarh, IB Umoh
Correspondence Address:
M U Eteng
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
0bjectives:To find out the effect of theobromine or aminotransferase enzyme activities in serum, heart and liver in rats.
Methods: Theobromine in two doses was administered by oral gavage to albino Wistar rats (n=8 for each group) for a four day period and both alanine aminotransferase (AST) and aspartate aminotransferase (ALT) enzyme activities were measured in serum, heart and liver tissues Control group (n=8) was administered only vehicle and enzyme activities were measured. Serum AST:ALT ratios were also computed for all the groups.
Results: Theobromine administration in moderate (600 mglkg body weight) to high (700 mglkg body weight) doses induced a highly significant (p<0.001) time and dose dependent increase in aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activities of the serum and heart tissue, but not of the liver. Similarly, the alanine aminotransferase activities of theobromine treated animals were significantly higher (p<0.001) for the heart, and (p<0.05) for the serum compared with their respective controls at 700 mglkg body weight. There were no changes in the ALT activities in the liver tissue. The computed AST:ALT ratio for the theobromine treatment group showed an increase with values of 1.93 and 2.01 for the 600mg/kg and 700 mg/kg theobromine dose regimens respectively, compared with the control value of 1.37.
Conclusion: Theobromine toxicity appears to be heart directed.
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