Assessing the effect of concomitant administration of artemether-lumefantrine and ciprofloxacin on some cardiac parameters in Wistar rats: “The remedial role of vitamin E”

The effect of Vitamin E on some cardiac parameters following concomitant administration of artemether-lumefantrine (AL) and ciprofloxacin in male Wistar rats was investigated. Thirty-five male Wistar rats weighing between 190 – 220 g, used for the study were randomly divided into seven groups of five animals each. Group I served as the control. Group II - VII were administered; 8 mg/kg body weight (bw) of AL; 7.14 mg/kg bw of Ciprofloxacin; 8 mg/kg bw of AL + 7.14 mg/kg bw of Ciprofloxacin; 8 mg/kg bw of AL + 8.57 IU of Vitamin E; 7.14 mg/kg bw of Ciprofloxacin + 8.57 IU of Vitamin E; and 8 mg/kg bw of AL + 7.14 mg/kg bw of Ciprofloxacin + 8.57 IU of Vitamin E respectively. All the drugs were administered at their therapeutic regimen. Some cardiac parameters investigated include lipid profile, Troponin I, Troponin T, Creatine kinase, Lactate dehydrogenase and aspartate aminotransferase. The result showed significant (p < 0.05) increase in all the parameters of cardiac function when treatment groups were compared with control. The observed increase in cardiac indices were however significantly (p < 0.05) ameliorated in Groups V, VII and VII which were co-administered with Vitamin E compared with Groups II, III and IV which received the test drugs independently. The weights of the heart tissues showed the same trend with the parameters of cardiac function assessed and upon administration of vitamin E. The results obtained suggest the antioxidative role of vitamin E in alleviating the negative effects induced by artemether-lumefantrine and ciprofloxacin combination treatment, which may be from the impact of free radicals that may have been generated by the combined drugs.