Hepatoprotective activity of Sarcostemma brevistigma against carbon tetrachloride-induced hepatic damage in rats

摘要

Liver diseases are a serious health problem. In the absence of reliable liver-protective drugs in allopathic medical practices, herbs play a role in the management of various liver disorders. Numerous medicinal plants and their formulations are used for liver disorders in ethnomedical practices and in traditional system of medicine in India. However, we do not have satisfactory remedy for serious liver disease; most of the herbal drugs speed up the natural healing process of liver. So the search for effective hepatoprotective drug continues. Sarcostemma brevistigma Wight (family Asclepiadaceae) grows throughout India and other tropical regions of the world. It is found to be active as anti-rheumatic, anti-allergy, anti-emetic and branchodilator. Phytochemical studies reveal the presence of bergenin, brevine, brevinine, sarcogenin, sarcobiose and flavonoids. The present study was made to evaluate the effect of ethyl acetate extract of stem of S. brevistigma against CCl_4-induced hepatic damage in rats.