HEPATOPROTECTIVE ACTIVITY OF IXORA COCCINEA L. IN ANIMAL MODEL

Abstract

The present study aim was to assess the hepatoprotective effects of an ethanolic extract of Ixora flowers against carbon tetrachloride induced hepatocellular injury in rat s . Healthy male W istar rats (150 - 200 g body weight, 4 - 6 wk old) were used . They were ran domly di vided into eight groups. In the test group, ethanolic flower extract at a dose of 300 mg/kg was administered orally once daily. A single dose of carbo n tetrachloride (CCl 4 , 0.5 ml/kg in olive oil) was administered i.p. to induce hepatotoxicity on the 7 th d ay after half an hour of extract administration. Animals were euthanized 24 h after the administration of CCl 4 . Blood and liver tissue were collected for the assessment of serum levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), TP (Total protein), TB (Total bilirubin) and liver reduced glutathione level. The liver tissue was used for histopathological assessment of liver damage. Pre - treatment of rats with the flower extract of Ixora coccinea (300 mg/kg) orally for 7 days showed sig nificant reduc tion in serum levels of ALT ( P < 0.05) and AST ( P < 0.05) enzymes by 5.5 % and 14 % respectively. TP (Total protein) increased by 96.4 % and TB (Total bilirubin) decreased by 42.8 % and s imilar ly significant reduction was observed ( P < 0.05) in the liver reduced glutathione level by 42.32 % 24 h after the administration of carbon tetrachloride. Histopathological studies provided the evidence that the flower extract possess hepatoprotective activity. The study indicated that under the defined e xperimental conditions ethanolic extract of flowers of Ixora coccinea showed