Ramasamy Anandan¹*, Balasundaram Jayakar¹ and Rajappan Manavalan²

¹Vinayaka Mission’s College of Pharmacy, Salem- 636 008 India.

²Department of Pharmacy, Annamalai University, Chidambaram,Tamilnadu India.

Corresponding Author E-mail:anandanpharma@yahoo.co.in

Abstract

Hepatoprotective activity of the Infusion of the dried leaves of Cassia alata (ICA) was studied against Paracetamol induced hepatic injury in albino rats. Pretreatment of the Infusion (ICA) reduced the biochemical markers of hepatic injury like serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase (SGPT), serum oxaloacetate transaminase (SGOT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), total bilirubin and gamma glutamate transpeptidase (GGTP). Histopathological observations also revealed that pretreatment with ICA protected the animals from paracetamol induced liver damage. The results indicate that the leaves of C.alata possess the Hepatoprotective activity. This property may be attributed to the flavonoids present in the leaves of C. alata.

Keywords

Cassia alata; hepatoprotective; paracetamol; biochemical parameters; histopathological studies

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Copy the following to cite this article: Anandan R, Jayakar B, Manavalan R. Hepatoprotective Activity of the Infusion of the Dried Leaves of Cassia Alata Linn. Biomed. Pharmacol. J.2009;2(1)

Copy the following to cite this URL: Anandan R, Jayakar B, Manavalan R. Hepatoprotective Activity of the Infusion of the Dried Leaves of Cassia Alata Linn. Biomed. Pharmacol. J.2009;2(1). Available from: http://biomedpharmajournal.org/?p=630

Introduction

Liver, the largest organ in the body, is being evolved to maintain the body’s internal milieu and also protected itself from the challenges it faces during its functioning. Since it is involved in the biochemical conversions of various endogenous and exogenously administered substances, there is a possibility of generating various highly reactive species of free radicals. In spite of these free radicals generation, hepatotoxins like paracetamol overpower the protective mechanism of the liver and cause hepatic damage. Though the modern medicinal system has grown predominantly, the drug for treating hepatic disease is still a dream. Hence people are looking at traditional system of medicines for remedies to hepatic disorders.

Cassia alata Linn. (Leguminoseae) is a shrub found throughout India, which is traditionally used by the tribes and native medicinal practitioners for the treatment of various ailments including asthma, ringworm, skin diseases, liver disorders and rheumatism¹. Literature review reveals that the plant possesses antiplasmodial, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, larvicidal, antimutogenic, antifungal, analgesic and hypoglycemic activities^2-4. The plant contains flavanoids, glycosides, tannins, phenolic compounds, sterols and terpenoids^5,6. However, there are no reports regarding the Hepatoprotective activity of the leaves of this plant. Preliminary phytochemical screening of the Infusion shows the presence of flavonoids. Flavonoids are reported to possess various properties including Hepatoprotective property⁷. The present study has been undertaken to screen for Hepatoprotective activity of the Infusion of the dried leaves of Cassia alata and to verify the claim using paracetamol induced hepatic injury model in rats.

Materials and Methods

Plant materials

The leaves of Cassia alata were collected from Shervaroy’s hills, Salem, Tamilnadu, India during the month of April 2006. The plant was identified and authenticated by the Botanist. A voucher specimen was kept in our laboratory for future reference (V/01/2006). The plant material was shade dried and pulverized.

Preparation of the Infusion

The Powdered plant material (50g) was macerated with 500ml of boiling water for 15 minutes. The entire mixture was allowed to cool, filtered (the marc was not pressed) and the filtrate was evaporated to dryness under reduced pressure to afford viscous residue (6.8 gm – 13.6% w/w). Freshly prepared Infusion was used whenever it was necessary. The Infusion was suspended in 5% gum acacia and used for further experiments.

Animals

Swiss albino mice (20-25g) and male Wister Rats (150-175 g) were procured from Venkatershwara Enterprises, Bangalore, Karnataka, India and used throughout the study. They were housed in microloan boxes in a controlled environment (temperature 25+ 2 ⁰ C and 12 h dark/light cycle) with standard laboratory diet and ad libitum. The study was conducted after obtaining Institutional Animal Ethical Committee’s clearance (Protocol No.Pcol/02/2006 dated 28.01.2006).

Acute toxicity studies 

Acute oral toxicity (AOT) of ICA was determined using Swiss albino mice. The animals were fasted for 3 h prior to the experiment and were administered with single dose of the Infusion dissolved in 5% gum acacia (doses ranges from 500-2000 mg/kg at various dose levels) and observed for mortality up to 48 h (short term toxicity). Based on the short-term toxicity, the dose of next animal was determined as per OECD guideline 425. All the animals were also observed for long –term toxicity (14 days). The LD₅₀ of the test extract was calculated using ‘AOT425’ software provided by Environmental Protection Agency, USA.

Evaluation of Hepatoprotective activity

Five groups of animals (Male Wister Rats) containing six each were used for the study. The animals from Group I served as the control and received the vehicle 5% w/v gum acacia at a dose of 1ml/kg/day, p.o. for 7 days. Group II animals were similarly treated as Group I. The standard drug Silymarin (Micro Labs, Silyban)

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