Melatonin restores zinc levels, activates the Keap1/Nrf2 pathway, and modulates endoplasmic reticular stress and HSP in rats with chronic hepatotoxicity

Table 1 Effect of melatonin on liver function, lipid peroxidation, superoxide dismutase activity, and zinc level

Parameter	CO	MLT	CCl4	CCl4 + MLT
AST (U/L)	175.4 ± 34.4	161.8 ± 20.3	1016.8 ± 340.8a	519.6 ± 127.5
ALT (U/L)	50.2 ± 5.6	43.8 ± 6.6	270 ± 90.8a	177 ± 42.7
AP (U/L)	80.2 ± 25.4	75 ± 14.3	395 ± 130.8a	238 ± 24.5
TBARS (nmol/mg protein)	0.18 ± 0.01	0.15 ± 0.01	0.29 ± 0.03a	0.18 ± 0.05
SOD (U/SOD/mg protein)	12.84 ± 1.08	11.43 ± 0.7	9.32 ± 0.3a	13.18 ± 1.6
Zinc (µg/dL)	48.66 ± 4.9	0.62 ± 10.4	11.11 ± 4.31a	28.96 ± 6.67

^aP < 0.001, carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄) group vs other groups. Data are expressed as the mean ± SD. CO: Control group; Melatonin (MLT): Rats receiving MLT alone; CCl₄: Rats treated with CCl₄ alone; CCl₄ + MLT: Rats treated with CCl₄ plus MLT; AST: Aspartate aminotransferase; ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; AP: Alkaline phosphatase; TBARS: Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances; SOD: Superoxide dismutase.