Antioxidant and protective effect of hydroalcoholic extract of Celtis australis L. on CCL4 induced liver toxicity

Several human diseases including, cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, neurodegenerative and hepatic diseases are related to destructive effect of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Antioxidants may provide a possible solution to this problem.This study was carried out to investigate the effect of hydroalcoholic extract of Celtis australis on CCl4 induced hepatotoxicity in mice.  The antioxidant activity of C. australis was evaluated by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assay. For evaluation of hepatoprotective activity of extract the animals were pretreated with 200, and 400mg/kg b.w, intraperitoneally of C. australis extract for 7 days and then received CCl4 (0.5 ml/kg b.w, in olive oil). Liver injury was determined by serum biochemical parameters such as Alanine aminotransferase (ALT), Aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and glutathione contents of liver tissue and histopathological studies. A significant reduction in the serum biochemical parameters was observed when compared to CCl4 received group(p<0.001). The standard antioxidant used in the study was Ascorbic acid. C. australis extract significantly suppressed the increase in plasma activities of liver enzymes and effectively protected animals against CCl4-induced hepatic tissue damages. This study confirmed the hepatoprotective effect of the hydroalcholic extract of C. australis.