Polygonum amplexicaule Extract: An Effective Herbal Cure to CCl4 Induced Liver Damage In Vivo

Abstract

Introduction: Liver damages are mainly caused by toxic chemicals, alcohol, infections and autoimmune disorders. Polygonum amplexicaule is a member of the genus Polygonum having high antioxidant contents and it has traditional medicinal attributes in treatment of many ailments particularly liver damage. Objectives: Keeping in view the medicinal importance of P. amplexicaule, present study was constructed for in-vivo hepatoprotective activity of its rhizome extract in albino mice. Methods: BALB/C albino mice were selected for experimental assays and sorted in nine groups (group i-iii control groups, group iv-ix herb treated groups) with six mice in each group for six days treatment. Blood samples from anesthetized mice (20% chloroform) were collected by carotid artery puncture allowed to coagulate at room temperature for 30 min and then centrifuged at 3000 rpm for 8-10 min. The serum separated was preserved at -20°C for subsequent analysis of biochemical parameters. Animals were sacrificed under diethyl ether anaesthesia at fasting state, liver tissues were quickly excised and were stored in fixative sera (10% formalin), for histology. Results: Results revealed that CCl4 had significantly reduced the body weight and increased the level of ALT, AST, ALP and plasma bilirubin compared to toxic control. The pre-treatment of CCl4-administrated mice with extracts of P. amplexicaule at concentration of 200 mg/kg induced a profound decrease (62-94.4%) in the elevated activities of ALT, AST, ALP and plasma bilirubin level. Conclusion: P. amplexicaule extracts have hepatoprotective activity and it can be used as herbal medicine for use in food, medicines and healthcare products to cure liver damages.