ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Ethnopharmacology
Comprehensive dose-dependent hepatorenal protective effects of Ziziphus nummularia leaf extract against Quinolphos-induced toxicity in Wistar rats
Provisionally accepted
Ramya Rengaraj1
Stalin Arumugam1Praveen Kumar Dharmaraj2Varadharajan Gokula1
Aarthi Murugavel3
Mohamed Saiyad Musthafa4
Cristiana Roberta Multisanti5*
Caterina Faggio6- 1Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli, India
- 2KIRND Institute of Research and Development Pvt Ltd, Tiruchirappalli, India
- 3Ethiraj College for Women, Chennai, India
- 4Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, India
- 5Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Messina, Messina, Italy
- 6Universita degli Studi di Messina, Messina, Italy
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Quinolphos pose considerable hepatorenal toxicity risks, potentially necessitating the investigation of natural protective agents. This study assessed the pharmacological effects of Ziziphus nummularia leaf extract in mitigating quinolphos-induced toxicity in male Wistar rats (n=30) through comprehensive histopathological and behavioural evaluations. Animals were randomly divided into five groups: control, quinolphos-induced, vehicle control (300 mg/kg), and two treatment groups receiving Ziziphus nummularia leaf extract at low dose (250 mg/kg) and high dose (500 mg/kg).The quinolphos-treated group displayed severe behavioural impairments, characterised by reduced locomotor activity, coarse coat texture, and substantial weight loss, with extensive histopathological damage in hepatic and renal tissues. Kidney sections exhibited significant glomerular cell debris and atrophy, abnormalities in the basement membrane, tubular degeneration, interstitial oedema, and tubular necrosis. The liver examination revealed significant changes in hepatocyte morphology, portal structures, leukocyte infiltration, sinusoidal congestion, and hepatocyte necrosis. The administration of Z. nummularia extract exhibited notable dose-dependent protective effects. The high-dose group demonstrated nearly complete histopathological recovery, with no detectable glomerular debris, tubular injury, or tubular necrosis in the kidneys, minimal hepatocyte changes, and total restoration of vascular integrity in liver tissue. Behavioural enhancements correlated with histopathological observations, reflecting a gradual restoration of appetite, activity levels, and overall clinical status. All treatment groups exhibited 100% survival during the experimental period. These findings reveal substantial evidence validating the pharmacological effects of Z. nummularia as a natural hepatoprotective and nephroprotective agent against organophosphate-induced organ damage.
Keywords: Atrophy, Hepatorenal toxicity, leukocyte infiltration, organ damage, Organophosphate toxicity, Quinolphos, Ziziphus nummularia
Received: 09 Jan 2026; Accepted: 10 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Rengaraj, Arumugam, Dharmaraj, Gokula, Murugavel, Musthafa, Multisanti and Faggio. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Cristiana Roberta Multisanti
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