Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015 May;11(Suppl 1):S93-S101.
doi: 10.4103/0973-1296.157705.

Toxicological and biochemical studies on Schinus terebinthifolius concerning its curative and hepatoprotective effects against carbon tetrachloride-induced liver injury

Rania H Abdou  1 , Sherif Y Saleh  2 , Waleed F Khalil  3
Affiliations

Toxicological and biochemical studies on Schinus terebinthifolius concerning its curative and hepatoprotective effects against carbon tetrachloride-induced liver injury

Rania H Abdou et al. Pharmacogn Mag. 2015 May.

Abstract

Background: Recently, many efforts have been made to discover new products of natural origin which can limit the xenobiotic-induced hepatic injury. Carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) is a highly toxic chemical that is widely used to study hepatotoxicity in animal models.

Objective: The present study was conducted to investigate the curative and protective effects of Schinus terbenthifolius ethanolic extract against CCl4 -induced acute hepatotoxicity in rats.

Materials and methods: S. terbenthifolius extract was orally administered in a dose of 350 mg dried extract/kg b.wt. before and after intoxication with CCl4 for curative and protective experiments, respectively. A group of hepatotoxicity indicative enzymes, oxidant-antioxidant capacity, DNA oxidation, and apoptosis markers were measured.

Results: CCl4 increased liver enzyme leakage, oxidative stress, hepatic apoptosis, DNA oxidation, and inflammatory markers. Administration of S. terebinthifolius, either before or after CCl4 intoxication, significantly decreased elevated serum liver enzymes and reinstated the antioxidant capacity. Interestingly, S. terebinthifolius extract inhibited hepatocyte apoptosis as revealed by approximately 20 times down-regulation in caspase-3 expression when compared to CCl4 untreated group. On the other hand, there was neither protective nor curative effect of S. terebinthifolius against DNA damage caused by CCl4.

Conclusion: The present study suggests that S. terebinthifolius extract could be a substantially promising hepatoprotective agent against CCl4 toxic effects and may be against other hepatotoxic chemical or drugs.

Keywords: Antioxidant; Schinus terebinthifolius; apoptosis; hepatoprotective; hepatotoxicity.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Immunohistochemical staining of the liver sections (×400) stained with caspase 3 antibodies for apoptotic cells and hematoxylin counterstaining of the nuclei and non-apoptotic cells. (a) control groups, (b) CCl4 groups and (c) rats received ethanolic extract of Schinus terebinthifolius either before [left side pictures] or after [right side pictures] CCl4-intoxications. Arrowheads in figures (b) point out caspase-3 positive apoptotic cells
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Madkour FF, Khalil WF, Dessouki AA. Protective effect of ethanol extract of Sargassum Dentifolium (Phaeophyceae) in carbon tetrachloride induced hepatitis in rats. Int J Pharm Pharm Sci. 2012;4:637–41.
    1. Gupta M, Mazumder UK, Thamilselven V, Manikandan L, Senthilkumar GP. Potential hepatoprotective effect and antioxidant role of ethanol extract of Oldenlandia umbellate in carbon tetrachloride induced hepatotoxicity in Wistar rats. Iran J Pharmacol Ther. 2007;6:5–9.
    1. Pari L, Murugan P. Protective role of tetrahydrocurcumin against erythromycin estolate-induced hepatotoxicity. Pharmacol Res. 2004;49:481–6. - PubMed
    1. Halliwell B, Gutteridge JM. 3rd ed. New York: Oxford University Press; 1999. Free Radicals in Biology and Medicine; pp. 617–783.
    1. Stal P, Olson J. Ubiquinone: Oxidative stress, and liver carcinogenesis. In: Kagan VE, Quinn DJ, editors. Coenzyme Q: Molecular Mechanisms in Health and Disease. Boca Raton: CRC Press; 2000. pp. 317–29.