Hepatoprotective and antioxidant activity of methanolic extract of flowers ofNerium oleander against CCl4-induced liver injury in rats

摘要

Objective:To investigate the antioxidant and hepatoprotective activity of methanolic flower extract ofNerium oleander againstCCl4-induced hepatotoxicity in rats.Methods:In vitro antioxidant activity of methanolic extract of flowers of Nerium oleander(MENO-F) was evaluated by various assays, including reducing power, lipid peroxidation,DPPH,ABTS, superoxide anion, hydroxyl radicals and metal chelation.The hepatoprotective andin vivo antioxidant activity ofMENO-F were evaluated againstCCl4-induced hepatic damage in rats.TheMENO-F at dose of100,200 and400 mg/kg were administered orally once daily for seven days.Serum enzymatic levels of serum glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase(AST), serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase(ALT), serum alkaline phosphatase(ALP) and total bilirubin were estimated along with estimation of superoxide dismutase(SOD) and malondialdehyde(MDA) levels in liver tissues.Further histopathological examination of the liver sections was carried out to support the induction of hepatotoxicity and hepatoprotective efficacy.Results:The extract showed potent activities on reducing power, lipid peroxide,DPPH,ABTS, superoxide anion, hydroxyl radical and metal chelation.The substantially elevated serum enzymatic levels ofAST,ALT,ALP and total bilirubin were found to be restored towards normalization significantly by theMENO-F in a dose dependent manner with maximum hepatoprotection at400 mg/kg dose level.The histopathological observations supported the biochemical evidences of hepatoprotection.Elevated level ofSOD and decreased level ofMDA further strengthen the hepatoprotective observations.Conclusions:The results of the present study strongly reveal thatMENO-F has potent antioxidant activity and hepatoprotective activity againstCCl4-induced hepatic damage in experimental animals.