Of the 12 biochemical indicators the transaminases AST and ALT are two enzymes that are associated with hepatocellular damage and so are used as biomarkers for predicting possible toxicity (Huang et al., 2006; Ojiako and Nwanyo, 2006). Although both are common liver enzymes and their concentration in hepatocytes is high, only ALT is remarkably specific for liver function since AST is mostly present in myocardium, skeletal muscles, brain and kidneys (Sacher and McPherson,1991; Witthawaskul et al., 2003). Damage to parenchyma liver cells or hepatic cell due to the presence of drugs or toxic substances often result in elevation in both of these transaminases in the serum. Therefore enzyme measurement provides a valuable tool for clinical diagnosis of liver damage as well as toxicity studies (Ashafa et al., 2009). Mild increase of ALP has been reported to be associated with liver injury or myocardial infarction (Mahluli, 2003).
In this study, the level of ALT decreased significantly at all doses, both in male or female treated rats, at the end of administration