Antioxidant and Hepatoprotective Effects of Bauhinia racemosa Against Paracetamol and Carbon Tetrachloride Induced Liver Damage in Rats

The methanol extract of Bauhinia racemosa Lam. (Caesalpiniaceae) stem bark was investigated for the antioxidant and hepatoprotective effects in Wistar albino rats. Different groups of animals were administered with paracetamol (500 mg/kg, (p.o.) once in a day for 7 days) and carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) (30 % CCl4, 1 ml/kg b.wt. in liquid paraffin 3 doses (i.p.) at 72 h interval). The methanol extract of Bauhinia racemosa (MEBR) at the doses of 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg and silymarin 25 mg/kg were administered to the paracetamol and CCl4 treated rats. The effect of MEBR and silymarin on serum transaminase (SGOT, SGPT), alkaline phosphates (ALP), bilirubin and total protein were measured in the rats induced hepatotoxicity by paracetamol and CCl4. Further, the effects of the extract on lipid peroxidation (LPO), glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) were estimated. The MEBR and silymarin produced significant (P < 0.05) hepatoprotective effect by decreasing the activity of serum enzymes, bilirubin and lipid peroxidation and significantly (P < 0.05) increased the levels of GSH, SOD, CAT and protein in a dose dependant manner. MEBR also showed antioxidant effects on FeCl2-ascorbate-induced lipid peroxidation in rat liver homogenate and on superoxide scavenging activity. From these results, it was suggested that MEBR could protect the liver cells from paracetamol and CCl4-induced liver damages perhaps, by its antioxidative effect on hepatocytes, hence eliminating the deleterious effects of toxic metabolites from paracetamol or CCl4.