Hepatoprotective Effects of Ethanolic Extract of Cnidoscolus aconitifolius on Paracetamol-Induced Hepatic Damage in Rats

The study was designed to evaluate the possible hepatoprotective effect of Cnidoscolus aconitifolius on paracetamol poisoning in rats. Twenty five male Wistar rats were used in this study. They were divided into 5 groups of 5 rats. Groups I and II received normal saline (0.9% physiological saline). Animal in groups III-V were administered Cnidoscolus aconitifolius at 100, 500 and 1,000 mg kg-1, respectively for 7 days. All animal in groups II-V were given paracetamol at 3 g kg-1 by gastric gavage on days 8 and 9. Animals were sacrificed by cervical dislocation on day 10 after an overnight fast. Paracetamol overdose caused significant (p<0.05) increase in the plasma Alanine aminotransferase (ALT), Aspartate aminotransferase (AST), Alkaline phosphatase (ALP), Blood Urea Nitrogen (BUN), triglycerides (TAG) and total cholesterol (TC) and Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL-cholesterol) and significant (p<0.05) decrease Total Protein (TP) and High Density Lipoprotein (HDL-cholesterol) in rats treated with paracetamol alone when compared with rats pre-treated with extract of Cnidoscolus aconitifolius. Pre-treatment with ethanolic extract of Cnidoscolus aconitifolius led to significant (p<0.05) decrease in serum ALT, ALP, AST, LDL and BUN when compared with the paracetamol treated rats in dose-dependent manner. The extract also similarly caused significant (p<0.05) increase in HDL values compared with paracetamol treated group. In conclusion, the results of this study demonstrated that the Cnidoscolus aconitifolius can ameliorate paracetamol-induced hepatotoxicity. Significant hepato-protective activity was observed in rats treated with the dose of 1000 mg kg-1 b.wt.