Aspartame is one of the most common artificial sweeteners in use today worldwide. Aspartame has been implicated in many health problems. The study aimed to investigate whether aspartame consumption induces oxidative stress and whether it can threaten the antioxidant defense system in hepatic and renal tissues. The experiment was performed on adult male albino rats. They were distributed into 4 groups, group I represented the control animals and received orally water. The rest were given aspartame in a dose 50 mg/kg for 15, 30 and 60 days respectively. Blood was collected and centrifuged to obtain serum for the determination of serum enzymes. The tissue samples were homogenized, centrifuged and the clear supernatant was collected for further biochemical analysis. The results showed a significant increase in LPO level in liver and kidney. A remarkable reduction in GSH content was also observed in both hepatic and renal tissues. The activities of antioxidant enzymes SOD, CAT, GPx and GR were significantly reduced in both liver and kidney. In addition, the results also indicated a significant increase in activities of serum marker enzymes ALT, AST, ALP and GGT. The data provided in this study clearly point out that aspartame consumption at a dose of 50 mg/kg induces oxidative stress in hepatic and renal tissues by generation of free radicals.
Key words: aspartame, oxidative stress, antioxidant, free radicals, liver, kidney
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