Biochemical parameters in rats that underwent bile-duct ligation or sham operation
| Parameter | Treatment; mean (standard error) | p value | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sham + saline | Sham + melatonin | BDL + saline | BDL + melatonin | ||
| Aspartate transaminase, U/L | 158 (14) | 162 (12) | 371 (36) | 261 (27) | 0.008 |
| Alanine transaminase, U/L | 66 (8) | 59 (6) | 97 (8) | 74 (7) | 0.006 |
| Alkaline phosphatase, U/L | 464 (214) | 377 (237) | 1747 (299) | 775 (365) | 0.007 |
| γ-glutamyl transpeptidase, U/L | 8 (2) | 10 (5) | 81 (23) | 43 (17) | 0.008 |
| Total bilirubin, mg/dL | 0.2 (0.04) | 0.2 (0.03) | 13.6 (4.1) | 7.7 (3.3) | < 0.001 |
| Direct bilirubin, mg/dL | 0.02 (0.01) | 0.02 (0.01) | 10 (2.2) | 5.3 (1.7) | < 0.001 |
| Albumin, g/dL | 3.9 (0.8) | 3.9 (0.7) | 3.8 (0.7) | 3.9 (0.8) | 0.65 |
BDL = bile-duct ligation.
Plasma aspartate transaminase, alanine transaminase, alkaline phosphatase, γ-glutamyl transpeptidase and bilirubin levels in the BDL rats were significantly higher than the BDL + melatonin rats (p < 0.05), the saline rats and the melatonin rats (p < 0.01, for both).