ABSTRACT
Lilium pumilum, a bulbous plant native to Mongolia, is medicinal plant used in traditional Mongolian medicine to treat hepatic and gastrointestinal disorders. The purpose of this study was to analyze the hepatoprotective effect of Lilium pumilum bulb extract on the liver injury induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4 ) in rats. For this, CCl4 in oil were administered to 21 head of WISTAR rats for 4 days and treated with L.pumilum extract twice per day orally. On 4th, 7th, and 17th days of experiment euthanasia was performed for blood biochemical and liver histological analyses. Results showed that blood AST, ALT and ALP (P<0.05) were decreased by 11.8 u/l, 24.8 u/l and 11.8u/l in rats treated with L.pumilum bulb extract for 3 days on the liver fibrosis induced by tetrachloride (CCl4) comparing to non-treated. Moreover, favorable result was obtained in treating liver fibrosis with extract of L.pumilum bulb and liver drug Essential Forte N extract. After treatment with L.pumilum bulb extract treated for 3 days the difference appeared at 1.6 u/l and 18.9 u/l in AST and ALT respectively, and ALP by 26.4 u/l in blood, comparing with standard group of rats treated with liver drug Essential Forte N extract.In this study, the fact that results of treated rats with extract of L.pumilum bulb extract were similar to standard group of rats suggests Lilium pumilum may have hepatoprotective activity. Keyword: Carbon tetrachloride, Lilium tenuifolium, liver toxicity, traditional Mongolian medicine Introduction Like many other developing countries our country also faces common problems of global climatic changes. Climatic change exerts both direct and indirect effects on animal husbandry. It exerts direct on animal body thermal exchange and vitalfunctions, whereas animal fattening level, productivity and animal production effectiveness depend greatly from indirect impacts via changes in rangelands [1]. In the past 40 years because of worldwide climatic changes and human affects, Mongolian ecosystem had visible changes. Drought desertification and dzud frequency had grown up, water supply biological deficiency had widened and all of these factors influences badly for the herder’s life condition and economy in Mongolia [2]. After dzud and drought years plant constituents become less and growth of weed and locoweed plants like wild leek, fat-hen, large-flowering wormwood, tumble grass, hogweeds increases. When livestock eat those plants, firstly it causes digestive system disorders, metabolic disorders and leads to chronic and acute toxicity. It was found out that climatic and ecologic change influence to increased endemic diseases; climate related stress, lack of food; water hardness and chronic toxicity could be reason for hepatocyte damage [3]. After winter and spring livestock liver get damaged because of starvation, lack of food, poisonous plants and variety of drug and chemical toxification. Therefore, it is essential to create low cost hepatoprotective treatment from widespread Mongolian medical plants. The liver plays an important role in many bodily functions from protein production and blood clotting to cholesterol, glucose and iron metabolism. A variety of illnesses can affect the liver. Symptoms of liver diseases include weakness and fatigue, weight loss, nausea, vomiting, and yellow discoloration of the skin (jaundice). The treatment of a particular liver disease depends on its specific cause. Liver disease is any disturbance of liver function that causes illness. The liver is responsible for many critical functions within the body and should it become diseased or injured, the loss of those functions can cause significant damage to the body. Liver disease is a broad term that covers all the potential problems that cause the liver to fail to perform its designated functions. Usually, more than 75% or three quarters of liver tissue needs to be affected before decrease in function occurs. Normally, veins return blood from the body to the heart, but the portal vein allows chemicals from the digestive tract to enter the liver for “detoxification” and filtering prior to entering the general circulation. The portal vein also efficiently delivers the chemicals and proteins that liver cells need to produce the proteins, cholesterol, and glycogen required for normal body activities. [4] There are about 45 genus and 1300 species in family Liliaceae. In Far East growths 5 spe- cies: 1. Lilium Buschi-Anum Lodd. (L.Pulchellium Fisch.); 2. Lilium dauricum Ker-gawl. (L.Pensylvanicum Ker-gawl.); 3. Lilium Distichum distichum Nakai; 4. Lilium lantifolium Thurb. (L.Tigrinum Ker- gawl.); 5. Lilium Pumilum Delile (L.Tenifolium Fisch, ex Scrank) [5] Lilium Pumilum is an Asian species of bulbous plants native to Mongolia, Siberia, the Russian Far East, Korea and northern China. It is a stem- rooting bulb that grows up to 1 meter (3 ft 3 in) high, though usually rather less. The bulb itself is 4–5 inches (100–130 mm) deep and live from 2 to 4 years. The leaves are slender and grassy. It bears from one to twenty reflexed and nodding flowers, usually red in color, and which may be spotted with black. The flowers are scented. [6] Taxonomic classification of Lilium Pumilum: • Class: Liliopsida; • Series: Liliales; • Family: Liliaceae; • Genus: Lilium; • Species L.Pumilum Delile. In Mongolia L. pumilum grows in 7 plant geographical regions: Khuvsgul, Khentii, Mongol Daguur, Ikh Khyangan, Dundand Khalh, Dornod Mongol. [7] In Mongolian traditional medicine all parts of plants is used for treatment, flower powders were used in bone fracture, especially in skull damage. Seeds were used in uterus bleeding and bulbs are used in detoxification. [8] It has sweet taste, cooling property and with cool quality according to Traditional Mongolian Medicine. [9] L. pumilum also enhances the bile secretion. [10] We choose the carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) induced liver model because carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) is a chemical agent widely used for experimental induction of fatty liver and liver fibrosis in animals [11]. It is considered that CCl4 is metabolized by cytochrome P-450 (CYP) to unstable trichloromethyl free radicals (e.g. CCl3, CCl3O2), which then bind covalently to membrane proteins, finally causing lipid peroxidation [11- 14]. The activities of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) in rat plasma rise remarkably with hepatocyte necrosis and lipid accumulation when CCl4 is administered to rats. Therefore, this model is used widely to induce various fatty liver states [15].