Hepatoprotective Effect of Adenema hyssopifolium G. Don (Gentianaceae) in Carbon Tetrachloride-Induced Hepatotoxicity in Rats

Purpose: The effects of oral administration of ethyl acetate, ethanol and aqueous extracts of Adenema hyssopifolium G.Don (Gentianaceae) on carbon tetrachloride-induced liver disorders were investigated. Methods: Rats were individually treated daily with 300 and 600 mg/kg dose of either ethyl acetate, ethanol or aqueous extracts of A. hyssopifolium, respectively, following induction of liver damage with the hepatotoxin, carbon tetrachloride. The hepatoprotective activity of the extracts was assessed by estimating the levels of serum aspartate aminotransferase (ASAT), alanine aminotransferase (ALAT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and total bilirubin (TBL) in the rats. Silymarin was used as the reference hepatoprotective agent. Acute toxicity test on the extracts in male mice was also carried out. Results: At doses of 300 and 600 mg/kg p.o., the ethyl acetate and ethanol extracts showed significant (p < 0.001 and p < 0.01) dose-dependent hepatoprotective activity, showing decreases in serum levels of ASAT, ALAT, ALP and TBL. The aqueous extract, however, did not exert any significant effect on hepatoprotective activity. All three extracts, up to a dose of 3000 mg/kg p.o. each, did not cause mortality in the acute toxicity test. Conclusion: The ethyl acetate and ethanol extracts showed significant hepatoprotective activity when compared to untreated (normal) control group while the aqueous extract did not. The active extracts could find future use in countering hepatic damage.