Caesalpinia bonduc Linn Extracts Exhibit Hepatoprotective Effect on HepG2 Cells against Paracetamol by Up-regulating Glutathione Related Genes

Background: Caesalpinia bonduc (CB) is said to ownvarious pharmacological and therapeutic applicationagainst a number of diseases. It is used widely in folkmedicine to treat liver diseases. In the present study,we have made a sincere effort to evaluate thehepatoprotective activity of CB leaf extracts againstParacetamol (PCM) induced toxicity and theirmechanism of hepatoprotection in the humanHepatocarcinoma cells (HepG2 cells) therebyproviding scientific evidence for the same. Materialand Methods:The hepatoprotective activity of CB wasassessed in-vitro by the estimation of glutathione(GSH) and Malondialdehyde (MDA), anti-apoptoticassay/Annexin V and the expressions of genes such asGlutathione Reductase (GS-R) and GlutamateCysteine Ligase, Catalytic (GCLC). Results: Theobtained results suggest that the aqueous extract of CBpossess significant hepatoprotective activity. Thisactivity may be due to the possible antioxidantproperty and the free radical scavenging ability of theextracts, which might clear the toxic metabolites ofPCM. Conclusion: The present study suggests that theaqueous extract of CB have potential hepatoprotectiveactivity, which may prevent the lipid peroxidation ofthe cell membrane by its antioxidant properties.