Effects of Diclofenac Sodium on the Rat Liver in Postnatal Period

Abstract

Diclofenac Sodium (DS) is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug used in painful conditions, trauma, dysmenorrhoca, rheumatoid arthritis, degenerative joint disease and ankylosing spondylitis. There is the paucity of the research investigating DS effect on the rat liver in the fetal period. The present study aimed to investigate the possible postnatal effects of DS on the liver tissues of the offspring of rats. DS was administered to pregnant rats for 15 days from the 5-20th day of pregnancy. After mating day, pregnant female rats were separated into the control and DS treated groups. DS (1 mg kg(-1) daily) was injected intraperitoneally to the drug-treated group and physiological saline (1 mL kg(-1)) to the control group. Liver tissues were collected from pups at the 20th week and paraffin sections were dyed with hematoxylen-eosin. DS caused proliferation of bile ducts, enlargement of periportal area, dilatation of sinusoids and the central vein, parenchymal degeneration and mononuclear cell infiltration. Significant changes between the control and the treated groups were found (p<0.05). However, no significant difference was observed between the sexes in both groups. This study using DS with low dose did not show parenchymal cell death, as a different finding from the previous studies. However, these observations need to be confirmed by further studies using different doses of DS during pregnancy.