Effect of Punica Granatum (Pomegranate) on serum ALT and AST in Carbon tetrachloride induced liver damage in Wistar Albino Rats

Abstract

Background: Liver diseases are associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Punica granatum may have free radical scavenging activity and it can be used for the prevention and treatment of liver damage. Objective: To observe the hepatoprotective effects of Punica granatum on CCl 4 induced liver damage in rats. Methods: The experimental study was carried out in the Dept of Physiology, Dhaka Medical Ccollege, Dhaka from July 2013 to June 2014. For this purpose, 36 wistar albino rats were studied. After acclimatization for 7 days, they were divided into two groups-control and experimental group. Control group were subdivided into BC (Baseline control), CC (CCl 4 treated control) and SC (Silymarin treated control). Experimental group were subdivided into CP-APT (CCl 4 pretreated and aqueous extract of pomegranate treated), CP-EPT (CCl 4 pretreated and ethanolic extract of pomegranate treated) and APP-CT (Aqueous extract of pomegranate pretreated and CCl 4 treated). Each sub group consisted of 6 rats. All rats received basal diet for 8 days. In addition to basal diet on 8 th day, BC received single dose olive oil and CC received CCl 4 . Rats of SC received silymarin for 8consecutive days . In experimental groups, CP-APT received aqueous extract of Pomegranate and CP-EPT received ethanolic extract of Pomegranate for 8consecutive days. Moreover, APP-CT received aqueous extract of Pomegranate for 8 consecutive days and CCl 4 only on 8 th day. All rats were sacrificed on 9 th day and then blood samples were collected. Serum ALT and AST levels were estimated by using standard laboratory kits. Statistical analysis was done one way ANOVA and Bonferroni test. Results: The mean serum AST and ALT levels were significantly (p<0.001) higher in CC in comparison to those of BC. Serum AST and ALT levels of all experimental groups were significantly (P<0.001) lower than CC. Silymarin used as a standard reference also exhibited significant hepatoprotective activity against CCl 4 induced hepatotoxicity Conclusion: From the result of present study it can be concluded that, Pomegranate may have hepatoprotective effect by lowering ALT and AST levels.

Ameliorative Effects of Pomegranate Peel Extract on Hepatotoxicity Induced by Carbon Tetrachloride in Mice

“…Also, the hepato protective effects of EPP were further evidenced by obvious improvement in histopathological examination. These findings are in agreement with those of [19,33] who found that administration of pomegranate peel extract significantly reduced the damaging impact of CCl 4 on the liver. These results provided evidence that the PPE is able to improve hepatic steatosis in mice without obvious hepatotoxicity.…”

“…The effect of Punica granatum on liver enzymes could be attributed to the antioxidant activity of its active constituents. All of Pomegranate juice or peel or seeds have a powerful antioxidant activity due to their active compounds that are certain electron donors, which can react with the free radicals to change them to more stable products and terminate the radical chain reaction [19,21,34]. These results are probably attributed to its linolenic acid and phenolic compounds contained in this Pomegranate plant.…”

“…Moreover, [16,17] mentioned the protective role of pomegranate on fatty liver in obesity through improvement of abnormal lipid metabolism. Previous studies have demonstrated that PPE prevent CCl4 toxicity, particularly hepatotoxicity, by enhancing both alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activities [18,19], inhibition of collagen synthesis [20], increasing antioxidant enzyme activity and inhibiting lipid peroxidation [21].…”

Vitamin B2 enhances development of puberty ovaries via regulation of essential elements and plasma endocrine hormones

“…Alanine transaminase (ALT) is the more sensitive of the two, and its activity in liver tissue is 100 times greater than that in the serum [12]. Thus, in most cases, the levels of ALT and AST are consistent with the degree of hepatocyte damage [13].…”

Antioxidant, anti-cancer and ameliorative activities of Spirulina platensis and pomegranate juice against hepatic damage induced by CCl4

“…Pomegranate juice (Faria et al, 2007;Nirwane and Patil, 2012;Sadia et al, 2016) also showed a substantial decrease in AST and ALT in rats suffering from CCl4 induced liver damage when fed with pomegranate fruit juice.…”