RESUMEN
Alcohol abuse and its medical and social consequences are a major health problem in many areas of the world. The present study was conducted to evaluate the protective effect of methanolic fruit extract of Randia dumetorum (L.) on alcohol-induced liver damage in rats. Rats were divided into five different groups (n=6), group I served as a control, group II received ethanol (3 ml/100 g/day p.o.), group III served as standard group and received silymarin (50 mg/kg p.o.), group IV and V served as extract treatment groups and received 50 & 100 mg/kg methanolic extract of R. dumetorum. All the treatment protocols followed 30 days and after rats were sacrificed blood and liver were used for biochemical and histological studies, respectively. The activities serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), triglyceride (TG), direct bilirubin (DB), total bilirubin (TB) and lipid peroxidation were statistically increased in rats exposed to alcohol while total protein and glutathione decreased compared to control rats. Treatment with R. dumetorum significantly decreased the elevated levels of ALT, AST, TG, DB, TB and lipid peroxidation compared to the group exposed to alcohol only. R. dumetorum significantly resulted in increased levels of total protein and reduced glutathione compared to the group that received alcohol only. Histology of the liver section of the animals treated with R. dumetorum improved the hepatotoxicity caused by alcohol. Hence the study concluded that R. dumetorum has potential hepatoprotective activity.