ABSTRACT
Background: Reindeer lichen, Lichen rangiferinus syn. or Cladonia rangiferina (L.) F. H. Wigg. (Cladoniaceae) has been traditionally reported as a remedy to treat fever, colds, arthritis as well as convulsions,liver infections, coughs, constipation, and tuberculosis. The current study is aimed at rectification ofalcohol induced liver damage by the use of L. rangiferinus extract.Objectives: The aim of the study was to compare some biochemical markers for liver injury and hematological indices in normal untreated rats and treated rats.Material and Methods: The study was performed using male Wistar rats. Animals were categorized intofive groups, negative control group (normal diet only), treated groups (2 groups were lichen treatedalong with 10% ethanol & 1 group was only ethanol treated) and positive control group (Silymarin + 10%ethanol) of six animals in each group. Biochemical markers for liver injury and hematological indices ofall animals were measured using standard diagnostic tools. The animals were then sacrificed and liverswere sent to the pathology lab for histopathological analysis.Results: Lichen extract showed a significant restoration of altered biochemical parameters towardsnormal in both in vitro and in vivo conditions. The total phenolic and flavonoid content of the LRE wasfound to be 21.78 mg PE/mg of extract and 5.13 mg RE/mg of extract respectively. The IC50 values foratranorin and fumarprotocetraric acid were found to be 128.48 and 218.46 mg/mL respectively.Reducing power of the extract was found to be quite significant. After administration of lichen extract,endothelial cells were less injured around central vein and number of fat vacuoles was also lesser inhepatocytes.Conclusion: Conclusively, treatment with lichen extract assuages alcohol-related damage and guardshepatic tissue from alcohol-induced toxicity.© 2017 Transdisciplinary University, Bangalore and World Ayurveda Foundation. Publishing Services byElsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).