Abstract
Background: Liver injury remains a serious problem worldwide despite advances in drug research. In the perspective of searching for new natural agents that can prevent such abnormalities this study was designed to evaluate the in vivo anti-oxidative properties of the methanolic extracts of Autranella congolensis and Sapium ellypticum.
Methods: The hepatoprotective properties of the extracts were evaluated on 9 groups of 5 Wistar rats using the CCl4 model. Animals were treated orally alone with extracts at doses 100 and 200 mg/kg body weight and 100 mg/kg Silymarin for 10 days except normal and toxic control groups. Animals received an intra-peritoneal injection of CCl4 except the controls. The efficacy of the extracts was assessed biochemically and histopatologically after 10 days treatment.
Results: Elevated serum glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase, glutamate pyruvate transaminase, alkaline phosphatase, total bilirubin and direct bilirubin observed in toxic groups were restored toward the normal values, when animals received each of both treatments at 100 and 200 mg/kg with each extract. The administration of CCl4 lowered significantly the level of liver antioxidants markers like superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione, and increased the level of lipid peroxidation, which were modulated in the group of animals treated with both extracts at 100 and 200 mg/kg. The histological and biochemical changes induced by both extracts at 200 mg/kg on toxic animals were similar to those obtained with standard silymarin.
Conclusions: These findings indicated that S. ellypticum and probably A. congolensis could prevent liver damage induced by CCl4.
Keywords: hepatoprotective; Sapium ellypticum; Autranella congolensis; liver injury; Carbone tetrachloride