Pretreatment of albino rats with aqueous leaf extract of Ziziphus mauritiana protects against alcohol- induced liver damage

Purpose: The effect of the aqueous extract of Ziziphus mauritiana leaf on hepatic lipid peroxidation, reduced glutathione and total antioxidant status was studied in chronic alcohol-induced liver damage. Method: Alcohol-induced liver toxicity was created by oral administration of 40% alcohol solution (v/v, 1ml/100g) to rats for 6 weeks. Other groups of rats were pretreated with 200 and 400 mg/kg bw aqueous extracts of Ziziphus mauritiana leaf or 100 mg/kg bw silymarin (reference drug) 30 min prior to alcohol ingestion. Body weight of rats was monitored weekly. Serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), total bilirubin and liver total antioxidant status, reduced glutathione and lipid peroxidation were evaluated. Result: Rats that received alcohol only showed significantly (p<0.05) elevated levels of ALT, AST, bilirubin, and hepatic lipid peroxidation while reduced glutathione, total antioxidant status and body weight significantly (p<0.05) decreased compared to control rats. Pretreatment of rats with aqueous extract of Ziziphus mauritiana 30 min prior to alcohol administration resulted in significant (p<0.05) depression of ALT, AST, bilirubin and lipid peroxidation levels compared to the group exposed to alcohol only. Administration of Ziziphus mauritiana extract prior to alcohol ingestion significantly (p<0.05) resulted in increased levels of reduced glutathione and total antioxidant status compared to the group that received alcohol only. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that the aqueous extract of Ziziphus mauritiana leaf may prevent chronic alcohol-induced liver injury by enhancing the levels of total antioxidant status and inhibiting hepatic lipid peroxidation.