Abstract
The present work was carried out to unravel the hepato-preventative potential of Hibiscus sabdariffa L. against hepatotoxicity generated by paracetamol in experimental Wistar rats. Paracetamol has been used extensively to study hepatotoxicity in animals by initiating lipid peroxidation causing injuries to liver tissues. Holding a wide variety of biological activities, Hibiscus sabdariffa L. extract have shown antioxidant, antibacterial, chemo preventive, antipyretic, anti-inflammatory, anti-nociceptive, antifungal, anti-parasitic and laxatives effects. Healthy male Albino Wistar rats weighing 170-220 g were purchased from the animal house ICCBS for the study. Based upon the age and weight, 3 experimental groups were constructed (n=5). Group A served as untreated control whereas Group B and C received Paracetamol 0.9 mL/kg of body weight via gavage for 15 days. In addition Group C received Hibiscus extract orally on daily basis for 15 days. The experimental phase ended at 15th day. At the end of 15th day animals of group A, B and C were sacrificed and blood samples were used to assay concentrations of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate amino-transferase (AST), and bilirubin. Furthermore, part of the hepatic tissue was processed for histological investigation including fixation, paraffin embedding, and hematoxylin-Eosin staining. The fifteen days treatment of Albino rats with paracetamol (0.9 mL/kg) and Hibiscus extract (22gram percent/kg of body weight via gavage) have shown to significantly reduce the enzymes ALT, ALP, AST and bilirubin in Group C as compared to group B. Histopathological characteristics of the specimens suggested a protective effect of Hibiscus sabdariffa L. with amelioration of portal and peri portal fibrosis in the herb-treated group C. Hibiscus sabdariffa L. extract has been shown to protect liver fibrosis and cirrhosis induced by paracetamol. It is, therefore, concluded that daily usage of Hibiscus not only can improve health in normal individuals but also benefit healing process in patients with liver damage.
