Hepatoprotective and antioxidant activity of Leea asiatica leaves against acetaminophen-induced hepatotoxicity in rats

Abstract

Leea asiatica (L.) Ridsdale, a folk medicinal plant is used by the ethnic people of North East India for the treatment of hepatic disorder. In this study, we have investigated the hepatoprotective and antioxidant activity of L. asiatica leaves against acetaminophen induced hepatotoxicity. Methanol extract of L. asiatica (150 and 300 mg/kg/day, p.o.) were administered to rats for three consecutive days followed by single acetaminophen (3000 mg/kg, p.o.) administration on 3 rd day. After 48 h of acetaminophen administration animals were sacrificed and biochemical estimation of serum, in vivo antioxidant activity using liver tissue were carried out. High levels of serum glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase, serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase, serum alkaline phosphatase, total bilirubin, direct bilirubin, total cholesterol and triglycerides were observed in disease control group, which found near to normal in extract treated groups. Higher dose exhibited significant hepatoprotective activity against acetaminophen induced toxicity. Level of superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase in liver tissue, and reduced glutathione in liver and blood were also significantly increased in extract (300 mg/kg) treated animals compare to disease control group. In this study we found that leaves of L. asiatica exhibited potent hepatoprotective activity against acetaminophen induced hepatic damage in experimental animals which justify the folklore claim, and the possible mechanism of this activity may be due to strong antioxidant activities of extract.

Phytochemical Study of Aerial Parts of Leea asiatica

“…Thus, this study supports the evidence for clarifying the anthelmintic effect of L. asiatica . The antioxidant properties of the L. asiatica extract were well-proven in previous literatures and, especially the ethyl acetate-soluble extract, showed the most potent antioxidative effects [16]. In this study, eight flavonoids ( 9 – 16 ) were determined specifically from the ethyl acetate-soluble extract (Supplementary Information SI 9), which indicated that flavonoids were enriched in an ethyl acetate-soluble extract.…”

“…As mentioned in the Introduction, L. asiatica possessed anthelmintic [14] and antioxidative activity-related nephroprotective and hepatoprotective effects [15,16]. The current study demonstrated the presence of triterpenoids, including oleanolic acid, ursolic acid, the representative pentacyclic triterpenes, and their derivatives ( 1 – 8 ).…”

“…Based on the spectroscopic evidence (Supplementary Information SI 7–SI 8), and searching the confirmed structure of compound 1 through Scifinder ® and Reaxys ® databases, compound 1 was identified as a new compound with a chemical structure of 4-hydroxyphenol-β-D-{6- O -[4- O -(7 S ,8 R -guaiacylglycerol-8-yl)-3-methoxybenzoyl]}-β-D-glucopyranoside. The molecular structure of 1 was very similar to that of (−)-4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenol β-D-{6- O -[4- O -(7 S ,8 R )-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenylglycerol-8-yl)-3-methoxybenzoyl]}-glucopyranoside, which was determined in a previous phytochemical study [16]. The comparison of 1 H- and 13 C-NMR data of both compounds was described in Supplementary Information SI 8.…”

“…Leea asiatica has also been used as a folk medicine, especially in India, to treat worm infection, bone fracture, liver disorder, and oxidative stress-related diseases. Up to date, three published reports have described the biological effects of L. asiatica extracts, including anthelmintic and antioxidant-related nephroprotective and hepatoprotective activities [14,15,16], and no phytochemical study on this species has been attempted yet even though L. asiatica has been used as a traditional medicine, as have other Leea species. The identification of the phytochemicals of herbal medicine is very important because it can be used as a primary data for the prediction of biological effects, safety information, and clarification of medicinal use.…”

The Protective Effect of Sonneratia apetala Fruit Extract on Acetaminophen-Induced Liver Injury in Mice

“…Overdose APAP overwhelms the hepatic detoxification process and depletes GSH, which leads to oxidative stress and further contributes to liver injury [28]. Therefore, antioxidants and antioxidant-rich plant may be used as therapeutic agents for liver damage [27, 29, 30]. An increasing body of evidences have proved that alleviating oxidative stress and inflammation would be a potential way to attenuate acute liver injury induced by APAP [31–33].…”