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ABSTRACT
The fruit (negro pepper) is rich in phytochemicals, which has demonstrated promising antioxidant capabilities in earlier researches. Pregnancy is a physiological state associated with increase oxygen demand leading to oxidative stress both on the mother and the fetus. This study aims to determine the potential effect of Negro pepper extract on oxidative stress biomarkers levels in pregnant wistar rats. A total of forty female rats were used for the study. The experiment was divided into Two phases, germinal phase (gestation day 0-7) and embryonic phase (gestation day 7-14). Each phase was divided into four groups (group A, B, C and D) with each group containing five rats each. Group A, B and C were administered with 0.25ml, 0.5ml and 1.0ml of negro pepper oil respectively for a period of 7 days starting from gestation day (0-7) for germinal phase and gestation day (7-14) for embryonic phase using oral gastric tube. At the end of the experiment, the rats were anesthetized with chloroform and the uterus were collected and homogenated with phosphate buffer (PBS) and then centrifuge to obtain the supernatant which was used for the various biochemical analysis. Analysis was carried out with graph pad statistical software version 8.1. Results of biochemical analysis were expressed as mean ± standard error of mean using analysis of variance (ANOVA). The level of significance was considered at P<0.05. Results showed that there was no significant difference in hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), total protein, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) levels compare to control.
