Abstract

TO STUDY THE HEPATOPROTECTIVE ACTIVITY OF NEW CRUDE FORMULATION OF SELECTED PLANTS ON RATS

Samiksha P. Dandekar and Dayanand P. Gogle*

Abstract

The liver is a very important organ which regulates various physiological processes in the body and detoxifies the toxic substances from the human body. Due to the repercussions of the conventional or synthetic drugs used in the treatment of liver diseases are unsatisfactory, attention has now been focused on the herbal or Ayurvedic preparations for their hepatoprotective activities. Hence, there is a need to focus on the systematic research methodology and to evaluate the scientific basis for the traditional herbal medicines that are claimed to have hepatoprotective activity. Bark of Berberis aristata, leaves and bark of Cassia fistula, leaves of Cynodon dactylon, lruits of Emblica officinalis, leaves of Tamarindus indica, fruits of Terminalia chebula and Terminalia belerica, inflorescence of Sphaeranthus indicus, bark and leaves of Syzigium cumini, bark of Holarrhena antidysentrica and fruits of Mesua ferrea were the plant materials used in the preparation of anti-haemorrhoidal crude drug formulation. Damage to liver is one of the major contributors to haemorrhoides hence the effect of hepatoprotective activity of the crude drug formulation was an essential aspect in the study. Liver injuries induced by Carbon Tetrachloride (CCl4) is one of the best characterized system of inducing hepatotoxicity and commonly used models for the screening of hepatoprotective activities of drugs. Hence CCl4 mediated hepatotoxicity was chosen as an experimental model. The result of our study reveals that CCl4 hepatotoxicity was effectively produced in all the 5 cases. Various doses of the crude anti-haemorrhoidal formulation showed significant protective effects by lowering the serum ALP, SGPT and SGOT activities in carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) induced hepatotoxicity but Dose 3(200mg/kg) was the most effective one as it did so to a greater extent. On the histological examinations, there were minimal lesions and fatty change was almost absent which reveals that the formulation contains the active ingredient (s) which protects the liver.

Keywords: Hepatoprotective, Carbon Tetrachloride (CCl4), Haemorrhoides, etc.