The Effect of Cannabis and Methamphetamine on Liver and Kidney Function in Adult Male Wistar Rats: A Comparative Study

Abstract

Cannabis and methamphetamine are widely abused substances with potential harmful effects on various organs, including the liver and kidneys. An initial step in detecting liver or kidney damage is to carry out a blood test to determine the level of certain liver enzymes or the level of urea, creatinine and uric acid in the blood. This study was aimed at investigating the effects of cannabis and methamphetamine on the liver and kidneys of adult male Wistar rats. Twenty-five male rats were randomly divided into five groups of five rats each. Group A served as the control group while groups two, three, four and five served as the test groups. Group A received normal laboratory chow and water, group B received only methamphetamine (10mg/kg), group C received only cannabis (300mg/kg), group D received methamphetamine (10mg/kg) and cannabis (300mg/kg), group E received methamphetamine (10mg/kg) and cannabis (600mg/kg). The administration period lasted for 21days. At the end of the administration, the animals were anaesthetized using chloroform, sacrificed, and blood samples were collected and properly labelled. Statistical analysis was determined using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and the results obtained from the laboratory investigations were expressed as mean±SEM, while values of p≤0.05 were considered to be statistically significant. The results showed the hepatoprotective and nephroprotective effects of Cannabis sativa on Methamphetamine induced liver and kidney damage. Result revealed an increase in groups B, D, and E; group C had a decrease compared to group A, which had no significant difference. However, group C had a decrease and groups D and E had an increase compared to group B, which had no significant difference in the relative liver weight. These findings suggest that Cannabis sativa may serve as a therapeutic agent to reduce methamphetamine induced liver and kidney damage.