Abstract
The leaves of plant khat (Catha edulis) are widely consumed by people of East African countries, Yemen and many other parts of the world for their pleasurable and stimulating effects, because of its reported toxicity of unknown etiology. The objectives of this study was to evaluate the effect of various oral doses of khat on free radical metabolism of rat liver and brain tissues by measuring the activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase and the levels of malondialdehyde (lipid peroxidation) and reduced glutathione. A dose dependent decrease in the activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase and the level of reduced glutathione with an increase in lipid peroxidation was observed in both brain and liver tissues of khat treated rats as compared to normal saline treated control rats, indicating an imbalance between oxidant and pro‐oxidant system of the rats.
Thus, according to the present maiden observation of altered free radical metabolism by khat treatment we conclude that khat consumption may account for the harmful effects like liver disorder, psychosis, and carcinogenesis, probably through generation of free radicals.
Al‐Zaytoonah Private University of Jordan supported this research.