Abstract

Membrane stabilization is an established attribute of most anti-inflammatory drugs. In this work the membrane stabilization capability of acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) was investigated in the liver of metabisulphite insulted experimental rats. Previous reports have shown that sodium metabisulphite administered to rats resulted in labilization of plasma membrane of some rat tissues while acetylsalicylic acid, an anti-inflammatory drug, like certain others, has been reported as membrane stabilizer. The organ of interest (liver) was collected into a 0.25 M sucrose and the homogenate was prepared for enzyme analyses.  The activities of the phosphatases were measured using standard methods.  Initial administration of metabisulphite alone showed an immediate significant decrease with (P<0.05) in alkaline phosphatase activities. Loss in activities was recorded throughout the experimental period but became insignificant after day 3. The activities of the phosphatases in acetylsalicylic acid treated rats were lower when compared with the control group but not as obvious as with the metabisulphite treated rats. The combination treatment (metabisulphite and acetyl salicyclic acid) gave a trend in activities that was in between the administration of individual compounds. This study therefore has shown that acetylsalicyclic acid prevented disruption of liver cellular membrane caused by the administration of sodium metabisulphite.

Key words: Acetylsalicylic acid, metabisulphite, liver, phosphatases, administration.