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Abstract
There is a lack of reliable hepatoprotective drugs in modern medicine to prevent and treat drug-induced liver damage. Leaves of Amaranthus roxburghianus, belonging to family Amaranthaceae are used traditionally for their hepatoprotective effect. We wanted to evaluate the hepatoprotective activity of Amaranthus roxburghianus and observe whether synergistic hepatoprotection exists with silymarin. Albino rats (150–200 g) were divided into five groups. Groups A and B were normal and experimental controls, respectively. Groups C, D and E received the alcoholic extract of Amaranthus roxburghianus leaves (AR) 200 mg/kg BW/day, silymarin 100 mg/kg BW/day and AR 100 mg/kg BW/day+silymarin 50 mg/kg BW/day p.o., respectively, for 10 days. Hepatotoxicity was induced in Groups B, C, D and E on the eighth day with paracetamol 2 g/kg BW/day. The hepatoprotective effect was evaluated by performing an assay of the serum proteins, albumin globulin ratio, alkaline phosphatase, transaminases and liver histopathology. The assay results were presented as mean and standard error of mean (SEM) for each group. The study group was compared with the control group by one-way ANOVA, followed by Bonferoni's test. A P-value of <0.01 was considered significant. In groups C, D and E, liver enzymes and albumin globulin ratio were significantly (P<0.01) closer to normal than in group B. Reduction in sinusoidal congestion, cloudy swelling and fatty changes and regenerative areas of the liver were observed on histopathological examination in groups C,D and E, whereas group B showed only hepatic necrosis. The Amaranthus roxburghianus alcoholic leaf extract shows significant hepatoprotective activity and synergism with silymarin.
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References
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References
1. Shanmugasundaram P, Venkataraman S. Hepatoprotective and antioxidant effects of Hygrophila auriculata (K. Schum) Heine Acanthaceae root extract. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 2006; 104: 124-128.
2. Saleem TSM, Chetty CM, Ramkanth S, Rajan VST, Kumar KM, Gauthaman K. Hepatoprotective herbs-a review. Int J Res Pharmaceutical Sci. 2010; 1: 1-5.
3. Kaplowitz N, Tsukamoto H. Oxidative stress and liver disease. Progress in Liver Diseases. 1996; 14: 131-159.
4. Ajith TA, Hema U, Aswathy MS. Zingiber officinale Roscoe prevents acetaminophen-induced acute hepatotoxicity by enhancing hepatic antioxidant status. Food and Chemical Toxicology. 2007;45:2267-72.
5. Timbrell J. Introduction to Toxicology. 3rd ed. Taylor and Francis, New York, 2001. pp. 57-71.
6. Kohen R, Nyska A. Oxidation of biological systems: oxidative stress phenomena, antioxidants, redox reactions, and methods for their quantification. Toxicologic Pathology. 2002; 30: 620-650.
7. Gupta AK, Misra N. Hepatoprotective activity of aqueous ethanolic extract of Chamomile capitula in paracetamol intoxicated albino rats. American Journal of Pharmacology and Toxicology. 2006; 1: 17-20.
8. Negi AS, Kumar JK, Luqman S, Shanker K, Gupta MM, Khanuja SPS. Recent advances in plant hepatoprotectives: A chemical and biological profile of some important leads. Medicinal Research Reviews. 2008; 28: 746-772.
9. Kohle C, Schwarz M, Bock KW. Promotion of hepatocarcinogenesis in humans and animal models. Archives of Toxicology. 2008; 82: 623-631.
10. Miyoshi H, Rust C, Roberts PJ, Burgart LJ, Gores GJ. Hepatocyte apoptosis after bile duct ligation in the mouse involves Fas. Gastroenterology. 1999; 117: 669-677.
11. Seki S, Kitada T, Sakaguchi H. Clinicopathological significance of oxidative cellular damage in non-alcoholic fatty liver diseases. Hepatology Research. 2005; 33: 132-134.
12. Kitase A, Hino K, Furutani T, Okuda M, Gondo T, Hidaka I, Hara Y, Yamaguchi Y, Okita K. In situ detection of oxidized n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in chronic hepatitis C: correlation with hepatic steatosis. Journal of Gastroenterology. 2005; 40: 617-624.
13. Albano E, Mottaran E, Occhino G, Reale E, Vidali M. Role of oxidative stress in the progression of non-alcoholic steatosis. Alimentary Pharmacolcology and Therapeutics. 2005; 22:71-73.
14. Lee WM. Acute liver failure in the United States. Seminars in Liver Disease. 2003; 23:217-226.
15. Cullen JM, Miller RT. The role of pathology in the identification of druginduced hepatic toxicity. Expert Opinion on Drug Metabolism and Toxicology. 2006; 2: 241-7.