Protective effect of Clerodendrum colebrookianum leaves against iron-induced oxidative stress and hepatotoxicity in Swiss albino mice.

Liver toxicity due to iron overload leads to oxidative damage of proteins, lipids and nucleic acids which in turn manifests several human diseases. Here, we evaluated the improving effect of Clerodendrum colebrookianum leaf on iron overload induced liver injury along with in vitro iron chelation and the protection of Fenton reaction induced DNA damage was conducted. Iron overload was induced by intraperitoneal administration of iron-dextran into mice. Post oral administration of different doses of the extract (50, 100 and 200 mg/kg body weight) showed significant decrease in different biochemical markers such as liver iron, serum ferritin and serum enzyme levels, along with decreased lipid peroxidation, protein oxidation and collagen content. In addition, the extract effectively enhanced the antioxidant enzyme levels and also exhibited the potential activity of the reductive release of ferritin iron. The protective effect of C. colebrookianum extract on injured liver was furthermore supported by the histopathological studies that showed improvement histologically. In conclusion, the present results demonstrated the hepatoprotective efficiency of C. colebrookianum leaf in iron overloaded mice, and hence, a potential iron chelating drug for iron overload diseases.

Assessment of the phytochemical constituents and antioxidant activity of a bloom forming microalgae Euglena tuba

BACKGROUND: Unstable generation of free radicals in the body are responsible for many degenerative diseases. A bloom forming algae Euglena tuba growing abundantly in the aquatic habitats of Cachar district in the state of Assam in North-East India was analysed for its phytochemical contents, antioxidant activity as well as free radical scavenging potentials. RESULTS: Based on the ability of the extract in ABTS•+ radical cation inhibition and Fe3+ reducing power, the obtained results revealed the prominent antioxidant activity of the algae, with high correlation coefficient of its TEAC values to the respective phenolic and flavonoid contents. The extract had shown its scavenging activity for different free radicals and 41.89 ± 0.41 µg/ml, 5.83 ± 0.07 µg/ml, 278.46 ± 15.02 µg/ml and 223.25 ± 4.19 µg/ml were determined as the IC50 values for hydroxyl, superoxide, nitric oxide and hypochlorous acid respectively, which are lower than that of the corresponding reference standards. The phytochemical analysis also revealed that the phenolics, flavonoids, alkaloids, tannins and carbohydrates are present in adequate amount in the extract which was confirmed by HPLC analysis. CONCLUSIONS: The results showed that 70% methanol extract of the algae possesses excellent antioxidant and free radical scavenging properties.