Effects of Oral N-Acetylcysteine on the Haemato-Biochemical and Histopathological Changes on the Liver of Albino Rats

Introduction: N-Acetylcysteine (NAC) is a direct precursor in the synthesis of intracellular Glutathione (GSH). NAC protects the liver by restoring the GSH levels or by acting as an alternate substrate for conjugation and hence, detoxification of the reactive metabolite of hepatotoxic drug. Aim: To evaluate the effects of oral NAC on the haemato-biochemical and histopathological changes on the liver of albino rats. Materials and Methods: The study was carried out in animal house located at Sumandeep Vidyapeeth, Piparia. The healthy albino rats of either sex weighing 150-400 gm body weight were grouped into two for the experimental study and were housed in animal house for duration of 24 hours. Before initiation of any procedures; after overnight fasting; the albino rats belonging to Group I Control Group (n=6) were administered distilled water 10 mL/kg orally; Group II NAC treated (n=6) were administered NAC 450 mg/kg as a single oral dose. Blood samples were collected after 24 hours of treatment, to evaluate the effect of NAC on the haemato-biochemical and histopathological changes on the liver. All results were expressed as Mean±SEM. Results: NAC as a single oral dose of 450 mg/kg does not caused statistically significant changes in the serum enzymes levels. Moreover, histopathology showed normal appearance of the liver was similar to that of the control treated rats, with no change in the texture and liver tissue showed normal morphology. Conclusion: NAC as a single oral dose of 450 mg/kg body weight has no toxic effect on the liver in albino rats.

More Human than Human

Within the literature surrounding nonhuman animals on the one hand and cognitively disabled humans on the other, there is much discussion of where beings that do not satisfy the criteria for personhood fit in our moral deliberations. In the future, we may face a different but related problem: that we might create (or cause the creation of) beings that not only satisfy but exceed these criteria. The question becomes whether these are minimal criteria, or hierarchical, such that those who fulfill them to greater degree should be afforded greater consideration. This article questions the validity and necessity of drawing divisions among beings that satisfy the minimum requirements for personhood; considering how future beings—intelligent androids, synthezoids, even alternate-substrate sentiences—might fit alongside the “baseline” human. I ask whether these alternate beings ought to be considered different to us, and why this may or may not matter in terms of a notion of “human community.” The filmBlade Runner, concerned in large part with humanity and its key synthezoid antagonist Roy Batty, forms a framing touchstone for my discussion. Batty is stronger, faster, more resilient, and more intelligent thanHomo sapiens. His exploits, far beyond the capability of normal humans, are contrasted with his frailty and transient lifespan, his aesthetic appreciation of the sights he has seen, and his burgeoning empathy. Not for nothing does his creator within the mythos term him “more human than human.”