Uvaria afzelii root extract protects the liver against damage caused by carbon tetrachloride ingestion

Abstract

Introduction: Hepatoprotective activity of crude aqueous extract of Uvaria afzelii (UV) root was investigated and compared with a standard hepatoprotective drug (silymarin) in Wistar rats. Materials and Methods: Twenty‑five adult Wistar rats were randomly assigned into a control Group (A) and four treatment Groups (B‑E) each containing five rats (n = 5/group). Animals in each group were allowed access to 200 g/day growers’ mash and water ad libitum. Rats in the treatment groups were administered with intraperitoneal injection of 1 ml/kg body weight of 30% carbon tetrachloride (CCL₄)/olive oil mixture every 72 h interval during the 15 days experimental period. Rats in Group B were not pretreated while Groups C, D and E rats were pretreated daily with 50 mg/kg body weight of silymarin, 250 mg/kg and 500 mg/kg body weight of crude aqueous extract of UV root respectively. On the 15th day of the experiment, the rats were sacrificed and blood samples were collected to assay for serum liver enzymes; aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) as well as total protein (TP).The liver tissues were also excised and fixed in 10% buffered formal saline for routine histological examination. Result: The result obtained showed that UV root extract significantly (P < 0.05) decreased serum AST, ALT, ALP while TP was significantly (P < 0.05) increased when compared with non-pretreated rats administered with CCL₄/olive oil and not significant (P < 0.05) when compared with silymarin pretreated rats. Histological observation of the liver of rats injected with CCL₄/olive oil only showed vacuolation (presence of fat droplets), portal vein congestion, and moderate tissue separation. These observations were reduced in the liver of rats pretreated with UV root extract and silymarin. Conclusion: These findings indicate that root extract of UV possess hepatoprotective activity against Ingested hepatotoxic insults.