The effect of interaction of Rauwolfia vomitoria root bark extract with vitamin E on rats’ liver enzymes

In our previous paper we demonstrated the influence of Rauwolfia vomitoria root bark extract on cardiac enzymes of normal Wistar rats and the effectiveness of this root bark as a source of antihypertensive agent, as determined by the marker enzymes, would be a useful index for the toxicity of this plant in clinical application. In this paper we present the results of the effect of Rauwolfia vomitoria root bark extract and its interaction with vitamin E on the liver function enzymes, such as alkaline phosphatase (ALP), alanine amino transferase (ALT), aspartate amino transferase (AST), gamma glutamyl transferase (γ-GT), and the histological architectures of the liver tissues of normal animals. The results showed significant (P ≤ 0.01) increase in the activity of AST by the extract. The findings also showed that interaction reduced the activity of enzymes to about normal or less than normal as in the case of γ-GT, ALT, and ALP, indicating the ameliorating effects of vitamin E on the toxicity of Rauwolfia vomitoria root bark extract. Histological results also confirmed the ameliorating effect of vitamin E on possible toxicity of this herb. As vitamin E and Rauwolfia vomitoria root bark extract already have known advantages in the management of cardiovascular disease, concomitant administration of Rauwolfia vomitoria root bark extract with vitamin E may be a better option.