Hepatoprotective effect of the pulp/seed of Aegle Marmelos correa ex Roxb against carbon tetrachloride induced liver damage in rats

Abstract

A number of herbal preparations are widely used in traditional system of medicine for the management of hepatic disorders. However, many of them have not been investigated for their described eff ects. Aegle marmelos Roxb is one such drug used in the treatment of hepatitis in folk medicine. Th erefore, an attempt has been made to investigate for hepatoprotective eff ect of fruits of Aegle marmelos against carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) induced hepatotoxicity in rats. Sixty Albino Wistar rats were divided into six equal groups of 10. Four groups received extracts of pulp/seeds of Aegle marmelos and intraperitoneal (i.p.) CCl4 (0.2 ml/100 g) either before or after administration of pulp/seeds. Two groups were controls, one treated with CCl4 and one with normal saline. Liver damage was assessed by plasma concentration of bilirubin and enzyme activities of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, and alkaline phosphatase. Treatment with aqueous extract of fruit pulp/seeds signifi cantly reduced CCl4-induced elevation in plasma enzyme and bilirubin concentration in rats. Th is study suggests that CCl4-induced liver damage in rats can be ameliorated by treatment of extracts from fruits pulp/seeds. Key words: Aegle marmelos, aminotransferases, carbon tetrachloride, hepatoprotective