2.4. Hematological and Serological Assays

ESR, as a marker of inflammation, was determined for all groups on day 23 using modified Westergren method [34]. Levels of IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α were measured in rat sera using commercially available ELISA kits (Research and Development (R&D) Systems, Minneapolis). Activities of liver enzymes, alanine transaminase (ALT) and aspartate transaminase (AST), were measured in the sera of all groups using ALT (Analyticon, Biotechnologies) and AST (Spinreact) kits, respectively. All assays were performed according to the manufacturer's instructions.