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. 2021 Jan 7:2021:8883040.
doi: 10.1155/2021/8883040. eCollection 2021.

Evaluation of Hepatoprotective Activity of Caralluma europaea Stem Extract against CCl4-Induced Hepatic Damage in Wistar Rats

Hayat Ouassou  1 , Mohamed Bouhrim  1 , Nour Elhouda Daoudi  1 , Hassane Mekhfi  1 , Abderrahim Ziyyat  1 , Abdelkhaleq Legssyer  1 , Mohamed Aziz  1 , Mohamed Bnouham  1
Affiliations

Evaluation of Hepatoprotective Activity of Caralluma europaea Stem Extract against CCl4-Induced Hepatic Damage in Wistar Rats

Hayat Ouassou et al. Adv Pharmacol Pharm Sci. .

Abstract

The present study aims to evaluate the hepatoprotective activity of stem aqueous extract of Caralluma europaea (AECe) on carbon tetrachloride- (CCl4-) induced hepatic damage in Wistar rats. The animals were daily treated with the aqueous extract of C. europaea at a dose of 250 mg/kg body weight for 14 days. CCl4 was injected (1 ml/kg, i.p.) two times, on the 7th and 14th days. At the end of the experimental period, all rats were anesthetized to collect blood for the assessment of biochemical parameters and then sacrificed to collect the liver for weighing. Hepatotoxicity was evaluated by measuring the serum levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), bilirubin (total and direct), malondialdehyde (MDA), total protein (TP), triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol, very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL-c ), low-density lipoprotein (LDL-c), high-density lipoprotein (HDL-c), urea, creatinine, and uric acid. Based on the results obtained in this study, the administration of C. europaea before exposure to the administration of CCl4 conferred favorable hepatoprotective effect in rats. The treatment with AECe (250 mg/kg) exhibits a significant hepatoprotective effect by ameliorating CCl4-induced alterations of these biochemical parameters. Hence, C. europaea could be a potential medicinal herb that can be used in the future to prevent liver intoxication.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic representation of (a) the experimental design; (b) the timeline chart for AECe treatment in the experimental rats injected with CCl4 (Group IV). n: number of rats.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Effect of CCl4, AECe (250 mg/kg), and silymarin (40 mg/kg) on liver weight (a) and liver index (b). Values are mean ± SEM (n = 6) and analyzed with one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey's test.  ∗∗∗p < 0.001 vs. control group.  ###p < 0.001 vs. CCl4 group.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Effect of AECe (250 mg/kg) on lipid peroxidation in the liver of rats with CCl4-induced liver damage. The values represent the mean ± SEM, with n = 6.  ∗∗p < 0.01 vs. control group;  #p < 0.05 vs. CCl4 group.
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