Aqueous extract of Dennettia tripetala ameliorates liver and kidney damage caused by multiple exposures to carbon tetrachloride

Abstract

Background: Dennettia tripetala is a medicinal plant with in vitro antioxidant activities. It is capable of protecting the liver and kidney of rats from damage when administered prior to a single exposure of carbon tetrachloride. The aim of this study was to document the possible ameliorative effect of the aqueous extract of Dennettia tripetala fruits on rats subjected to multiple exposures of carbon tetrachloride. Methods: Carbon tetrachloride was administered orally to male albino rats of Wistar strain four times over a 2 week period. The aqueous extract of Dennettia tripetala fruits was administered daily for 7 days starting on the 8th day after carbon tetrachloride administration had commenced. Results: Carbon tetrachloride caused increases in serum ALT, AST and ALP, serum total cholesterol, serum LDLcholesterol, liver total cholesterol and triglyceride, serum total protein, globulin, urea, creatinine as well as liver and kidney malondialdehyde levels. Carbon tetrachloride also caused significant reductions in serum HDL-cholesterol, serum triglyceride, serum albumin:globulin ratio as well as liver and kidney SOD and catalase activities. The plant extract was able to restore the biochemical parameters to levels comparable to those of the control group in all instances. Further evidence in support of these results was derived from histopathological analysis. Conclusion: Taken together, the results of this study show that the aqueous extract of Dennettia tripetala fruits is able to ameliorate liver and kidney damage caused by multiple exposures to carbon tetrachloride probably via an antioxidant-dependent mechanism.

Evaluation of the phytochemical content, in vitro antioxidant capacity, biochemical and histological effects of Dennettia tripetala fruits in healthy rats

“…Histopathological images from the present study showed that the aqueous and ethanolic extracts of D. tripetala caused a negligible amount of congestion in the centrioles of the liver but were not in any other way toxic to the liver, kidney, or heart of the rats. The slight congestion caused by the extracts to the centriole of the liver has been previously observed by our research group where the extract in an attempt to clear steatosis caused by the hepatorenal toxicant carbon tetrachloride induced a sort of “side effect” which featured patchy congestions of the centriole of the liver (Iseghohi & Orhue, ). In conclusion, a 28‐day administration of D. tripetala extracts does not cause considerable alterations to the organs and cells of normal healthy rats.…”

“…The fruits were sliced and sun‐dried, then ground to fine powder. Aqueous and ethanolic extracts of the fruits were prepared following the method of Iseghohi and Orhue (), with the ethanolic extract made by soaking the plant powder in ethanol rather than water. For administration to animals, each of the resulting extracts (concentrated with a freeze dryer) was suspended in distilled water.…”

“…D. tripetala has been shown to elicit analgesic and anti‐inflammatory properties in rodents (Oyemitan, Iwalewa, Akanmu, & Olugbade, ). The plant also elicits antihyperglycemic effects in rats (Anaga & Asuzu, ) as well as hepatoprotective and nephroprotective effects in rats poisoned with CCl 4 (Iseghohi & Orhue, , ; Iseghohi, Orhue, & Omage, ). Other effects of D. tripetala that have been observed by scientists have been extensively reviewed by Iseghohi ().…”

Dennettia tripetala (Pepper Fruit), a review of its ethno-medicinal use, phyto-constituents, and biological properties

“…Another study investigated the ability of the ethanolic extract of the root of D. tripetalato inhibit lipid peroxidation in frozen heart muscle slices and the extract showed significantly (p < 0.05) higher antioxidant effect when compared with vitamin C which suggest that the root extract of D. tripetalais rich in antioxidants and can be used to enhance the preservation of frozen meat (28). Recent studies carried out by Iseghohi and Orhue, (29,30) revealed that administration of aqueous and ethanolicextracts of D.tripetala fruit prevent an increase in the plasma activity of GGT, alanine transaminase (ALT) and alanine phosphatase (ALP) by combating the oxidative stress associated with tetrachloromethane (CCl4) metabolism.…”

Assessment of Kidney Function Indices in Male Albino Wistar Rats Administered Ethanol Stem Extract of Dennettia tripetala (Pepper fruit)

“…The use of Dennettia tripetala fruit, seed and stem for medicinal purposes has been attributed to the presence of phytochemicals, like tannins, alkaloid, steroid, flavonoids, cardiac glycosides, saponins and terpenoids [10,11]. The presence of these phytochemicals have been widely reported to possess antibiotic [12,13], antioxidant [1,14,15], anti-inflamatory [3,16] potentials. The hypoglyceaemic, analgesic, hypolipidaemic and haematoxic effects of Dennettia tripetala fruits have been reported [17][18][19].…”