Hepatoprotective and Antioxidant Activities of Tribulus Terrestris

Abstract

Tribulus terrestris L. has been used in folk medicine throughout history. The present study examined the acute toxicity of the total ethanolic extract of T. Terrestris followed by investigation of the hepatoprotective activity of the total ethanolic extract and different fractions of the aerial parts of the plant compared to silymarin against carbon tetrachloride-induced hepatic damage in rats. In addition, in vivo antioxidant activity was examined and linked to the previous in vitro DPPH free radical scavenging activity investigation. This study established the plant's safety and the hepatoprotective effect of the total ethanolic extract of the aerial parts of the plant and its different fractions due to significant decrease in CCl 4 -induced rise in serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and total bilirubin in rats. Treatment with the ethyl acetate fraction significantly reduced oxidative stress in CCl 4 -intoxicated rats, as evident by a decrease inmalondialdehyde (MDA) content associated with elevation of hepatic reduced glutathione (GSH) content and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity. Hence, this hepatoprotective effect could be due to the antioxidant activity of the plant which is mainly imparted by the two major di-p-coumaroylquinic acid derivatives isolated from the ethyl acetate fraction.

Ameliorative Impacts of <i>Tribulus terrestris</i> Against Ivermectin-Induced Hepato-Renal Toxicity in Rabbit: Pharmacological and Histopathological Study

“…Scavenging the free radicals by antioxidant substances such as vit E, Se and Tribulus flavanoid and polyphenol compounds can inhibit the chain reaction of lipid peroxidation (Hammoda et al, 2013) and protect parenchymal organs such as liver and kidney. The antioxidant activities of herbal flavanoid and polyphenol compounds are well documented in many research works (Abdou et al, 2015;Harraz et al, 2015). Hence, the hepato-renal protective effects of Tribulus terrestris can be attributed to its high content of antioxidant substances such as total flavanoids and polyphenols compounds (Zheleva-Dimitrova et al, 2012).…”