SALBUTAMOL,

The aim of this study is to understand the significance of montelukast, hydrocortisone and salbutamol on the lung histology and antioxidant levels in asthma induced Sprague Dawley rats. Chronic asthma is a respiratory disease characterized by oxidative stress and inflammation of the airways. Montelukast, hydrocotisone and salbutamol are drugs that are often used to treat asthma. Their impact on endogenous antioxidant levels in asthmatic conditions are yet to be clearly defined. Medication for asthma might include corticosteroids (like hydrocotisone), leukotrine receptor antagonists (like Montelukast) and Beta 2-adrenergic receptors (like salbutamol). Free radicals may be neutralized by antioxidants, which also lessen oxidative stress in the body. As a selective antagonist of the leukotriene D4 (LTD4) receptor, montelukast acts by preventing the body's production of leukotrienes, which are substances that promote inflammation and constriction of the airways when they come into contact with allergen. Other classes of drugs also prove useful in bronchodilation. Five (5) primary groups of Sprague Dawley rats were grouped (control, negative control and test groups). Group 1 control was not induced with asthma, Group 2, negative control was induced with asthma but not treated. These two groups make up the control group. Group 3 was induced with asthma and
treated with salbutamol, Group 4 was induced with asthma and treated with montelukast, while Group 5 was induced with asthma and treated with Hydrocortisone. These three groups make up the test group, five rats in each group. The rats were sensitized to 1mg ovalbumin and 20mg Aluminium hydroxide dissolved in 0.9 saline, and then they were challenged with ovalbumin 1 % w/v adsorbed in 0.9 saline, twice weekly for four weeks (28 days), using a Medal family nebulizer. This caused the rats to develop asthma. After the Conclusion of treatment, the rats were sacrificed and their lungs were extracted for histological assay, while 1ml of blood is extracted for measurement of antioxidants using the spectrophotometric method, following reagent manufacturers guidelines. Measurements were made of the amounts of endogenous antioxidants, such as glutathione peroxidase (GPx), catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione (GSH). The findings demonstrated that there was statistically significant increase in superoxide dimutase and malondialdehyde levels in the negative control in comparison to the control group, while there was a statistically significant decrease in catalase and glutathione levels in the negative control group in comparison to the control group. Super-Oxide Dismutase was considerably increased after treatment with all classes of drugs. There was no statistically significant variance in catalase level noticed among the test group. Glutathione peroxidase was only significantly in the group treated with salbutamol, it showed no significant variance in other drug administration. There was significant increase in malondialdehyde in all groups except salbutamol. All test groups had considerably lower glutathione levels than the control group. As a result, the research concludes that some antioxidant levels (except glutathione) can be significantly
increased with the given drugs, reducing oxidative stress in lung tissues.