Thioacetamide-induced acute liver toxicity in rats treated with Balanites roxburghii extracts

Abstract

ObjectiveTo evaluate the antioxidant and thioacetamide induced liver toxicity using extracts of aerial parts of Balanites roxburghii (B. roxburghii). MethodsThe in-vitro antioxidant activity was estimated for different extracts on superoxide, hydroxyl and 1,1- diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl free radicals and the hepatoprotective activity of the selected plant extracts was evaluated by using thioacetamide-induced liver intoxication in rats model. ResultsThere were no visible signs of toxicity, mortality and no behavioral changes were observed for the selected plant extracts (hydroalcoholic, ethyl acetate and hexane) at 2000 mg/kg body weight. The plant extracts showed dose-dependent effectiveness in the inhibition of free radicals generation and hepatoprotective nature. The hydroalcoholic extract showed more scavenging activity as compared to other extracts with IC50 values of (332.50 ± 1.30) μg, (302.00 ± 1.50) μg and (230.40 ± 1.10) μg on superoxide, hydroxyl and 1,1- diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl free radicals. Aerial parts of B. roxburghii at three dose levels such as 125 mg/kg, 250 mg/kg and 500 mg/kg showed dose dependent percentage protection as standard drugs and on enhancement activities of serum biomarker enzymes (aspartate aminotransferase, alanine transaminase, alkaline phosphatase, total bilirubin and total protein) observed in thioacetamide-induced hepatotoxicity. The hydroalcoholic extract showed significant results at 500 mg/kg body weight as compared to other extracts (P < 0.05) with 65.65%, 62.39%, 59.89%, 55.90% and 54.61% on aspartate aminotransferase, alanine transaminase, alkaline phosphatase, total bilirubin and total protein levels. ConclusionsIt was observed that the B. roxburghii plant extracts are non-toxic and have capacity to restore the physiological changes caused by the hepatotoxic compounds.