Antioxidant properties of ethanolic and aqueous Cinnamon extracts against liver injury in rats.

The hepatoprotective activity of aqueous and ethanolic extracts of cinnamon were investigated against carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) induced lipid peroxidation and hepatic injury in rats. The elevated serum AST and ALT enzymatic activities induced by CCl4 were restored towards normalization significantly by orally administrated 200 mg/kg of either extracts once daily for 7 days as compared to non treated rats. There was a significant elevation in the level of liver malondialdhyde (MDA) while the activities of antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase and catalase (SOD and CAT) were significantly decreased in CCl4 intoxicated rats. The results obtained indicated that ethanolic extract have potent hepatoprotective action more than water extract against CCl4 by lowering the MDA level and elevate the antioxidants enzymes activities (SOD and CAT). It is concluded that, the possible mechanism of this activity may be due to free radical-scavenging polyphenols compounds. Keywords: Cinnamon , liver injury , oxidative stress, rats