Protective effects of Prunus laurocerasus extracts against paracetamol-induced hepatotoxicity

Abstract

Paracetamol, which is a good analgesic and antipyretic when used in therapeutic doses, becomes a very damaging drug in overdose. In particular, it causes hepatotoxicity and may cause liver failure in the future. Prunus laurocerasus extracts used in the study are a natural fruit with proven antioxidant capacity in previous studies and have protective properties in many diseases. The aim of the present study is to determine the hepatoprotective property of this extract in the damage induced by paracetamol. For this, the experiment was designed in 5 different groups and each group was determined to have 6 experimental animals. No treatment was given to the control group (Group 1). Group 2 was determined as positive control as N-acetyl-cysteine ​​(NAC-150 mg/kg+paracetamol) in accordance with the literature. The treatment groups were determined as Prunus laurocerasus water and ethanol-water (400 mg/kg+paracetamol). The last group was paracetamol, which was given to animals at a dose of 2 mg/kg. Paracetamol administered in the liver and stomach significantly increased lipid peroxidation (LPO) and nitric oxide (NO) levels. It also caused a decrease in glutathione (GSH) levels, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) enzyme activities. With the applied extracts, these rates increased significantly to the level of healthy tissue. The obtained data reveal that these extracts have hepatoprotective properties.