Investigation of Hepatoprotective Properties of the Ethanolic Extract of Careya arborea Roxb. Bark in Paracetamol Induced Hepatotoxicity in Rats

Traditional plants have been utilized to manage hepatotoxicity according to recent trends. Careya arborea (CA) has been used in folk medicine to alleviate several diseases. In the present study, ethanolic extract of Careya arborea bark has been utilized to study its efficacy on paracetamol-induced hepatotoxicity on model rats.

SD Rats of either sex (150–200 gm) were divided into 5 groups containing 6 animals each. Acute hepatotoxicity was induced by paracetamol (600 mg/kg body weight) administered once daily for one week whereas the extract of the investigated plant was given orally throughout the whole experiment at 250 and 500 mg/kg body weight. Silymarin (100 mg/kg body weight) was given orally as a standard hepatoprotective drug. The degree of hepatoprotection was determined by the estimation of biochemical parameters like ALT, AST, ALP, bilirubin, total protein, albumin and globulin.

The increased serum levels of hepatic marker enzymes were found in the paracetamol treated group, indicating the severity of hepatocellular damage induced by paracetamol. Treatment with CA as well as standard hepatoprotective agent silymarin attenuated the increased levels of these hepatic enzymes. Body weight was improved insignificantly by CA, whereas liver weight was recovered significantly (p<0.05). ALT, AST, ALP as well as bilirubin levels were improved very highly significantly (p<0.001) by CA at 500 mg/kg dose. Also, the total protein and albumin levels were increased significantly at the dose of 500 mg/kg. The STD drug silymarin produced very highly significant (p<0.001) effect at 100mg/kg dose.

Changes in the biochemical parameters suggested that the ethanolic extract of Careya arborea bark has shown the promising hepatoprotective effect on paracetamol-induced liver damage in rats.