RESUMO
Dried flower Hibiscus sabdariffa L. (HSE) extracts, a local soft drink material and medicinal herb, were studied for their protective effects against liver fibrosis induced using carbon tetrachloride (CCl(4)) in rats. Male Wistar rats were administered CCl(4) by intraperitoneal injection for 7weeks and received a normal diet or normal diet with various HSE doses (1-5%) for 9weeks. HSE significantly reduced the liver damage including steatosis and fibrosis in a dose dependent manner. Moreover, HSE significantly decreased the elevation in plasma aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT). It also restored the decrease in glutathione content and inhibited the formation of lipid peroxidative products during CCl(4) treatment. In the primary culture, HSE also significantly inhibited the activation of the hepatic stellate cells. These results suggested that HSE may protect the liver against CCl(4)-induced fibrosis. This protective effect appears due to HSEs antioxidant properties.
Assuntos
Antioxidantes/farmacologia , Hibiscus/química , Cirrose Hepática Experimental/prevenção & controle , Fígado/efeitos dos fármacos , Fitoterapia , Extratos Vegetais/farmacologia , Administração Oral , Alanina Transaminase/metabolismo , Animais , Antioxidantes/administração & dosagem , Antioxidantes/uso terapêutico , Aspartato Aminotransferases/metabolismo , Tetracloreto de Carbono/toxicidade , Células Cultivadas , Relação Dose-Resposta a Droga , Glutationa/metabolismo , Peroxidação de Lipídeos/efeitos dos fármacos , Fígado/enzimologia , Fígado/patologia , Cirrose Hepática Experimental/tratamento farmacológico , Cirrose Hepática Experimental/patologia , Masculino , Extratos Vegetais/administração & dosagem , Extratos Vegetais/uso terapêutico , Substâncias Protetoras/administração & dosagem , Substâncias Protetoras/farmacologia , Substâncias Protetoras/uso terapêutico , Ratos , Ratos Wistar , Índice de Gravidade de Doença , Silimarina/administração & dosagem , Silimarina/farmacologia , Silimarina/uso terapêuticoRESUMO
Hibiscus sabdariffa L., a local soft drink material and medicinal herb, is usually used effectively in native medicines against hypertension, pyrexia, and liver disorders. Here, we report an extract, HSE (H. sabdariffa extract), which is designed to exhibit hypolipidemia and antiatherosclerotic effects in rabbits with experimental atherosclerosis. New Zealand White rabbits were fed with a normal diet, high cholesterol (1.3%), lard oil (3%) diet (HCD) with or without 0.5 or 1% HSE for 10 weeks. The levels of triglyceride, cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were lower in the serum of rabbits fed HCD plus HSE than in the serum of rabbits fed HCD. Feeding HSE (0.5 and 1% in the diet) to rabbits significantly reduced severe atherosclerosis in the aorta. Histopathological examination showed that HSE reduced foam cell formation and inhibited smooth muscle cell migration and calcification in the blood vessel of rabbits. These results suggest that HSE inhibits serum lipids and shows an antiatherosclerotic activity.
