Abstract
Monitoring and investigation of different toxic effects of frequently used food additives is of vital importance for public health.
Tartrazine is an artificial food coloring compound and is extensively used in numerous food items to enhance their aesthetic
value. The mechanism of toxic effects of tartrazine is not clear and is under debate. Hence, present work was planned to
evaluate the toxicity of tartrazine and to assess the potential of melon seed oil to alleviate the toxic effects of tartrazine in
experimental rats. Therefore, different doses of tartrazine alone and along with melon seed oil were given to experimental rats
for a period of 60 days. The rats were killed at 20, 40 and 60 days of experiment and blood was collected and analyzed for
various hematological and serological parameters. No mortality and behavioral changes were recorded though out the
experiment. The results exhibited significant decrease in hematological parameters (hemoglobin and hematocrit), serum lipid
profile (cholesterol, triglycerides, low density lipoprotein and high-density lipoprotein) and serum proteins (albumin, total
proteins). Results revealed significantly higher levels of liver function tests (aspartate aminotransferase, alanine
aminotransferase, bilirubin), renal function tests (urea, creatinine), cardiac enzymes (LDH, CPK and CK-Mb) and
malondialdehyde (MDA) in response to various treatments of tartrazine. Different doses of melon seed oil used in current
experimental research partially reversed the toxic effects of tartrazine in experimental rats.
