Influence of Khat on the Level of Clinical Biomarkers in Blood of Khat Chewers (original) (raw)

Leaves and buds of Catha edulis plant (Khat) that contain Cathinone were consumed daily in Yemen as a social habit for the mild stimulant effect of cathinine. Chewing Khat has socio-cultural tradition in which consumers spend part of their time ranging between 4-8 hours per day, in chewing khat. This study aimed to investigate the changes in biochemical markers and antioxidants associated with chewing khat. The results showed a major alteration in the estimated biochemical and the antioxidant markers. It reveal that chewing khat has a toxic effect, on blood constituents, and induce the oxidative stress. The alteration in the clinical biomarkers could be an indicator for liver and kidney toxicity. These proposed that; the daily chewing khat for long time leads to alter in the biochemical composition of blood and enhancing oxidative state, these may contribute in the failure of the body organs, further detailed studies are recommended.