oxic Effects of Non-Steroidal AntiInflammatory Agents in

Abstract

The toxicosis of some non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, piroxicam, 
indomethacin, phenylbutazone, and aspirin, which occasionally are 
locally used in Nigeria as rodenticides have been evaluated in rats using 
changes in the serum biochemical and haematological parameters as 
indices of toxicity. In the study, no clinical symptoms were observed in all 
the treatment groups except in the group of animals exposed to 
indomethacin which showed decreased feed intake, sluggishness, 
diarrhoea and some mortality were also recorded in the group. On the 
serum biochemical parameters, indomethacin and piroxicam caused 
increases in the level of total bilirubin and decreases blood urea nitrogen. 
Aspirin, indomethacin, and phenylbutazone produced increases in serum 
aspartate aminotransferase and this increase is significant (P<0.05) with 
the group treated with indomethacin compared to the control group. 
Indomethacin also caused significant (P<0.05) increase in the level of 
serum alanine aminotransferase. None of the treatment groups produced 
significant changes in haematological parameters except that 
indomethacin produced significant increase (P<0.05) in the total white 
blood cell count. Histological studies revealed that indomethacin also 
caused mild periportal hepatic necrosis and kupffer cell proliferation. 
This study therefore shows that some non steroidal anti-inflammatory 
drugs may have adverse effects in rats. Indomethacin has the greater toxic 
effect on rodents and this may suggest why it is marketed in Nigeria as a 
rodenticide.