ABSTRACT
Objective: To evaluate hepatoprotective effects of ethanol extract of aerial part of Blumea lacera (BLEE) against ethanol-induced hepatotoxicity in rats. Methods: The in vivo antioxidant activity of BLEE was assessed by determining the tissue glutathione (GSH) and lipid peroxidation (LPO) levels. The BLEE at the doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg and silymarin 100 mg/kg administered to the ethanol challenged rats. The effects of BLEE and silymarin on Physical and Biochemical Parameters were measured. Similarly, histopathological changes of the liver were studied. Results: The BLEE showed in vivo antioxidant activity. A significant (P<0.001) decrease in SGOT, SGPT, ALP, total and direct bilirubin was observed in BLEE treated group at doses i.e. 200 mg/kg and 400 mg/kg as compared to intoxicated group. Liver damage in animal pretreated with BLEE was minimal with distinct preservation of structures and the architectural frame of the hepatic cells. Conclusion: These findings demonstrated the hepatoprotective effects of BLEE against ethanol-induced liver damage.
ABSTRACT
Aims: The crude methanol extract of whole plant of Blumea lacera (Burn.f.) DC. has been investigated for anti-diarrheal, antimicrobial, anxiolytic, anti-atherothrombosis, membrane stabilizing and alpha-amylase inhibitory activities. Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out in 2013 in the Department of Pharmacy, Southern University Bangladesh, Chittagong, Bangladesh. Methodology: Test for anti-diarrheal activity was carried out by castor oil-induced diarrhea in mice. The preliminary antimicrobial activity was determined by the agar disc diffusion method. The anxiolytic activity was examined in mice by using the hole board test and open field test (OFT). The anti-atherothrombosis activity was evaluated using standard streptokinase. The membrane stabilizing activity was assessed by using hypotonic solution induced hemolysis of human erythrocyte. The plant extract was also assessed for anti-diabetic ability using In vitro α-amylase inhibitory potential. The α- amylase inhibitory activity of B. lacera was measured using the starch-iodine method. Results: The crude extract of B. lacera showed anti-diarrheal activity in dose-dependent manner. In antimicrobial assay, this extract showed better activity against the tested fungi compared to the bacteria used in the screening. Significant anxiolytic activity was found for this plant extract. In the In vitro anti-atherothrombosis test, the extract exhibited 46.17% clot lysis as compared to the standard, streptokinase (81.53%). In membrane stabilizing activity test, the plant extract at 1.0mg/ml inhibited the heat-induced hemolysis of RBCs by 52.27% whereas the standard acetyl salicylic acid (ASA) demonstrated 81.72% inhibition of hemolysis. Our results revealed that the extract had dose dependent prevention of digestion of carbohydrates by inhibiting α-amylase. The ability of B. lacera to inhibit thermal-and hypotonic-enzyme activity was found to be statistically significant (p=0.05). Conclusion: These results demonstrated that B. lacera may be used in pharmaceutical applications because of its effective pharmacological properties.