Nutri-Protection and Mediterranean Diet: Bitter Apricot Kernel and Amygdalin Treatment Effects on a Battery of Oxidative Stress and Apoptosis Biomarkers

Nutri-Protection and Mediterranean Diet: Bitter Apricot Kernel and Amygdalin Treatment Effects on a Battery of Oxidative Stress and Apoptosis Biomarkers

The role of nutrition against oxidative stress is increasingly debated in the literature. Much of the traditional food in Mediterranean diet are claimed to possess antioxidant properties but are in need of greater empirical support. This study was designed to test the putative protective effect of 3% and 5% bitter apricot kernel containing food (frequently consumed in Mediterranean diet) treated with amygdalin on apoptosis and oxidative stress in a preclinical model: carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced hepatic damage in Sprage Dawley rats. The animals (n = 64) were divided into eight groups as follows: (i) control, (ii) CCl4; (iii) Amygdalin, (iv) Amygdalin and CCl4, (v) Bitter Apricot Kernel (3%), (vi) Bitter apricot kernel (5%), (vii) CCl4 +Bitter apricot kernel (3%), (viii) CCl4 and bitter apricot kernel (5%). Chronic liver injury was induced by intraperitoneally administering carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) (1 mg/kg body weight for 3 d at the end of 28 days) to rats.