Abstract
Background
Glyphae brevis leaf is reported in ethnomedicine as a treatment for hepatitis and jaundice; however, no studies have hitherto investigated the mechanistic basis of these claims.
Methods
A hepato-protective role of G. brevis hydromethanolic (GBH) leaf extract was established against carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced hepatotoxicity. Twenty-four hours after a CCl4 challenge, rats were sacrificed and serum hematological indices, lipid profile, and biochemical parameters were determined. The antioxidant enzymes parameters (glutathione, catalase, and superoxide dismutase) and lipid peroxidation product (thiobarbituric reactive substances) levels in liver homogenates were evaluated. Changes in the liver cyto-architecture of different treatment groups were also investigated.
Results
The GBH extract produced no significant impact on weight and hematological indices. Intoxication with CCl4 significantly (p<0.001–0.05) increased total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoproteins (LDL) compared with control rats. Pretreatment with GBH leaf extract significantly reduced triglycerides, TC, and LDL to approaching control levels (p<0.001–0.05). The GBH leaf extract significantly alleviated CCl4-induced elevation of alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, and the CCl4-induced depression of total protein, and albumin. Liver antioxidant parameters were significantly increased in plant extract-treated rats, and this antagonized the pro-oxidant effect of CCl4. Histopathological studies also supported a hepato-protective effect of GBH. Collectively, the GBH leaf extract alleviated the CCl4-induced hepatotoxicity through improvement of innate antioxidant enzyme levels and lipid metabolism and stabilized the hepatocyte cyto-architecture of intoxicated rats.
Conclusions
This study establishes the ethnomedicinal role of G. brevis leaf in hepatitis and the mechanistic basis of hepato-protection against CCl4-induced hepatotoxicity.
The antiplasmodial and spleen protective role of crude Indigofera oblongifolia leaf extract traditionally used in the treatment of malaria in Saudi Arabia
