Original Articles
Samaresh Datta, Susmita Dhar,
Abstract
Cyperus articulatus L. (Cyperaceae), commonly known as piri piri, is a medicinal plant used traditionally for several medicinal purposes like headaches, migraine, epilepsy, etc. The present study evaluated the hepatoprotective activity of the methanol extract of Cyperus articulatus Linn. (MECA) against paracetamol induced liver damage in rats. Hepatotoxicity was induced in Wistar rats by oral administration of paracetamol (640 mg/kg suspended in 1% carboxy methyl cellulose), once during the 16 days treatment period. MECA was administered orally at the doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg daily for 16 days. Silymarin (25 mg/kg) was used as standard drug. Hepatoprotective activity was evaluated by the biochemical estimation of liver function parameters (SGPT, SGOT, ALP, total protein and total billirubin), antioxidant assays of liver homogenate (lipid peroxidation, reduced glutathione content, superoxide dismutase and catalase activity) and histological study of liver tissue. In MECA treated animals, the toxic effect of paracetamol was controlled significantly by restoration of the biochemical parameters, such as, SGPT, SGOT, ALP, total protein and total billirubin, as well as by the improvement of the antioxidant status to/towards near normal values. Histology of the liver sections of the animals treated with the extracts showed the presence of normal hepatic cords, absence of necrosis and fatty infiltration, which further evidenced the hepatoprotective activity of MECA. The results show that the methanol extract of Cyperus articulatus possesses hepatoprotective activity against paracetamol induced hepatotoxicity in rats.