Abstract

Background:
Citalopram is a class of antidepressant drugs that works by increasing the amount of serotonin to maintain mental balance. However, the risk of liver damage associated with citalopram use remains an area of ongoing research, with several potential mechanisms implicated in its pathogenesis.

Aim:
This experimental study aims to evaluation of physiological and histological renal damages due to low and high citalopram doses and the ameliorative role of walnuts-pulp extract in reducing hepatotoxic damage.

Methods:
To assess the side effects of citalopram and evaluate the ameliorative effect of Juglans regia pulp extract on liver functions, 32 mature male rats were divided into four equal groups: the first group was kept as the control group, drench 0.5 ml tab water; the second group was ingested 0.6 mg/kg of citalopram and 10 mg/kg of J. regia pulp extract; the third group was ingested 0.6 mg/kg of citalopram and 20 mg/kg of J. regia pulp extract; and the fourth group was ingested 0.6 mg/kg of citalopram only (all groups drenched daily for 60 days).

Results:
Significant elevation in alanine transaminase (ALT) and aspartate transaminase was observed in all animals treated with citalopram with or without J. regia pulp extract, but ALT in animals treated with citalopram with 20 mg/kg J. regia extract showed a significant reduction compared with others. The serum bilirubin levels revealed no significant differences between the groups of treated animals. Pathohistological sections showed normal histological structures for hepatic tissue and sinusoids without any significant occupied lesions in control and animals treated with J. regia pulp extract at both doses with citalopram. Fatty degeneration, with fibrous network formation, structureless, homogenous, and pinkish material, hepatic vein congestion and narrowing in the hepatic artery and arteriole diameter, fat droplet accumulation in the hepatocytes.

Conclusion:
Treatments with citalopram caused liver dysfunction and damage in liver tissue, whereas J. regia pulp extracts have a protective role against liver tissue at high or low doses.

Key words: Hepatotoxicity, Walnut, Antidepressant, Liver function tests, Iraq