eng Oriental Scientific Publishing Company Biomedical and Pharmacology Journal 0974-6242 2017-06-20 10 2 549 555 10.13005/bpj/1140 15463 article Saravanan T, 1 Shanmugapriya S, 2 Sumitra G, 3 Dhayananth R. S, 4 Saravanan A, 5 Manicka Vasuki A. K. 6 Department of Medicine, PSG Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Peelamedu, Coimbatore, Tamilnadu, India. Department of Pharmacology, PSG Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Peelamedu, Coimbatore, Tamilnadu, India. Department of Biochemistry, PSG Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Peelamedu, Coimbatore, Tamilnadu, India. Resident, PSG Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Peelamedu, Coimbatore, Tamilnadu, India. PSG Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Peelamedu, Coimbatore, Tamilnadu, India. Department of Anatomy, PSG Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Peelamedu, Coimbatore, Tamilnadu, India. To compare the effectiveness of vitamin B12 and folic acid in comparison to N-acetylcysteine (NAC) as hepato-protective agent against liver damage in experimentally induced acute acetaminophen toxicity in Sprague dawley rats. 18 male Sprague dawley rats were randomly divided into three groups of six each. Group A was administered NAC, group B - vitamin B12 and group C - folic acid intraperitoneally one hour after an acute over-dosage of acetaminophen 3mg/kg. After 48 hours, 1.5 ml of blood was withdrawn and the animals were sacrificed for histopathological examination of liver. The mean AST and ALT of vitamin B12 group did not differ statistically from that of the NAC group. The folic acid group had higher mean AST though not statistically significant whilst the mean ALT was significantly higher compared to NAC group. The reduction in the mean ALP and GGT with vitamin B12 showed statistically significant reduction whereas the folic acid group did not. Histopathology of liver revealed that the tissue architect was totally disturbed with portal tract appearing hemorrhagic and congested in addition to centrilobular necrosis in the folic acid group. In vitamin B12 group, the architecture of tissue was preserved with only mild inflammation. Vitamin B12, unlike folic acid has proved to be an efficacious hepato-protective agent in animal model of acute acetaminophen toxicity. https://biomedpharmajournal.org/vol10no2/hepato-protective-effect-of-folic-acid-and-vitamin-b12-in-comparison-to-n-acetylcysteine-in-experimentally-induced-acetaminophen-toxicity-in-rats/ Acetaminophen toxicity folic acid vitamin B12 liver enzymes histopathology