| Evaluation of the Protective Effect of Ethanol Extract of Acalypha indica Leaf Against Paracetamol- Induced Liver Dysfunction |
| MOLLY MATHEW† and BEENA JOY* |
Agro Processing & Natural Product Division
Regional Research Laboratory, Thiruvananathapuram-695 019, India
Fax: (91)(471)2491712; (91)(471)2490186; E-mail: bjoy39@yahoo.co.in |
| Abstract
A number of medicinal plants, traditionally used for many years, in
the treatment of liver ailments, are available in the tropical and
subtropical regions. One such plant, Acalypha indica, though widely
used by tribal people, is not much investigated therapeutically. Hence
an effort was made to evaluate the hepatoprotective activity of the
ethanol extract of the leaves of Acalypha indica in male albino rats of
average weight (100-120 g) using paracetamol as hepatotoxicant (3
g/kg). As 100 mg was identified as the optimum dose to exert the said
effect, this dose was selected for the programmed study. Silymarin was
used as a reference standard. Levels of marker enzymes like aspartate
amino transferase (AST), alanine amino transferase (ALT), alkaline
phosphatase (ALKP) total protein (TP), albumin (Alb) and total bilirubin
(T.Bil) were estimated in serum. A probe into the mechanism of
action was attempted by estimating the thiobarbituric acid reactive
substances (TBARS) and glutathione (GSH) levels in liver homogenates
in order to evaluate the degree of lipid peroxidation. Histopathological
studies were also done to confirm the biochemical changes. Acalypha
indica extract produced substantial improvement in hepatocellular function
as evidenced by reversal of ballooning degeneration and sinusoidal
congestion. It also showed reversal of important enzyme functions
of liver which were comparable to the effects of silymarin. |
| Keywords
Acalypha indica, Hepatoprotective, Silymarin, Paracetamol. |
| |
View Article 
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
|
|
|
|