Abstract
The hepatoprotective effect of aqueous methanol extract (MeOH: H2O, 7:3) of Acacia nilotic flowers was investigated against carbon tetrachloride-induced hepatotoxicity in rat. The extract was tested in two dose levels 20 and 40 mg/kg b.wt., for 4 weeks versus silymarin (25 mg/kg), samples were taken after 2, 3 and 4 weeks of treatment. Serum aspartate (AST), alanine aminotransferases (ALT) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) CCl4-treatment group were elevated to be: 97.4 ± 2.11; 57.8 ± 1.65 U/L and 71.3 ± 2.3 IU/dl; respectively comparing with the control values. Treatment with the plant extract (20 and 40 mg/kg) significantly reduced ALT, AST and ALP in dose dependant manner after 4 weeks in the CCl4-intoxicated rats. Also, A. nilotic significantly increased the activities of SOD (19.4 ± 0.98; 22.1 ± 1.25; 21.7 ± 1.54 U/mg protein), CAT (3.24 ± 0.043; 3.85 ± 0.06; 4.32 ± 0.05 U/min), GPx (65.3 ± 2.11, 73.5 ± 2.18, 77.0 ± 2.24 nmol/mg protein), GSH (412 ±.7.2; 543 ± 5.41; 731 ± 8.6 mol./mg tissue), while MDA decreased significantly (71.2 ± 1.33; 78.5 ± 1.72; 79.4 ± 1.92 nmol/mg protein) in lower and higher dose and silymarin, respectively compared with CCl4-treatment. Microscopic examination of CCl4 treated animals revealed focal necrosis and lymphocytic infiltration in the periportal areas with massive fatty infiltration. The histopathological examination showed that extract markedly reduced the alterations induced by CCl4 in liver. In addition, A. nilotica decreased inducible NO synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) activation in CCl4-treated rats. Phenolic compounds are commonly found in plants and have been shown to display remarkably of biological activities, such as hepatoprotective, anti-inflammatory and antiviral activities. Therefore, our findings suggest that the phenolic compounds are the major active compounds responsible for the hepatoprotective activity of A. nilotica flowers.
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