Protective Effect ofZizyphus lotusL. (Desf.) Fruit against CCl₄-Induced Acute Liver Injury in Rat

Abstract

In Morocco, “Zizyphus lotus L.” is one of the most widely and traditionally used plant species to treat various diseases, including liver disorders. The present study was conducted to evaluate the aqueous extract of Zizyphus lotus L. fruit against carbon tetrachloride- (CCL4-) induced liver damage in Wistar rats. The animals were daily treated with the aqueous extract of Zizyphus lotus L. fruit using two doses separately 200 and 400 mg/kg body weight for 14 days. CCL4 was injected intraperitoneally (1 ml/kg body weight) at two times, 7th and 14th days. At the end of the treatment, rats were sacrificed, and the blood was collected for the assessment of biochemical parameters. Moreover, the body weight as well as liver weight was determined. The injection of CCl4 to the rats induced various alterations such as the increase of relative liver weight, serum alkaline phosphatase, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, total bilirubin, direct bilirubin, triglycerides, very low-density lipoproteins, total cholesterol (slight increase), creatinine, urea, uric acid, and malondialdehyde. On the contrary, the effects of CCL4 lead to the reduction in serum levels of high-density lipoprotein. However, the daily administration of the aqueous extract of Zizyphus lotus L. fruit to the injected rats with CCL4 restored this abnormal variation in these biochemical parameters to normal values. Based on the results obtained in this study, it seems that the aqueous extract of Zizyphus lotus L. fruit has an hepatoprotective effect against hepatic lesions induced by CCL4 in rats.

Acute and Subacute Toxicity Studies of the Aqueous Extract from Haloxylon scoparium Pomel (Hammada scoparia (Pomel)) by Oral Administration in Rodents

“…Protein profile and metabolic biomarkers were also measured. Serum levels of three enzymes (ALT, AST, and ALP) are commonly used as clinical biochemistry markers associated with liver damage [ 33 – 35 ]. Among these enzymes, serum levels of ALT and AST of the groups 500, 1000, and 2000 mg/kg/bw were statistically lower when compared to the control.…”

5-O-Demethylnobiletin Alleviates CCl4-Induced Acute Liver Injury by Equilibrating ROS-Mediated Apoptosis and Autophagy Induction

“…After one week of acclimatization, healthy mice were randomly allocated into six mice per group. For an acute liver injury model (n = 6/group), all mice were intraperitoneally injected with CCl 4 (1 mL/kg) three times a week, except for control groups [ 42 ]. 5-DN mice groups were orally administered with 1 and 2 mg/kg every day until the end of the experiment.…”

The Nephroprotective Effect of Zizyphus lotus L. (Desf.) Fruits in a Gentamicin-Induced Acute Kidney Injury Model in Rats: A Biochemical and Histopathological Investigation

“…It is well known that the dose considered is commonly used to induce nephrotoxicity in experimental animals [ 12 , 47 ]. The doses 200 and 400 mg/kg of the ZLF aqueous extract were used in this study, referring to a previous similar approach [ 47 ], in which the aqueous ZLF extract produced no detectable toxicity to laboratory animals [ 25 ].…”

“…Various parts of this plant are traditionally used to manage a variety of health issues such as urinary tract infections, liver disorders, digestive problems, insomnia, diabetes, and skin infections [ 18 ]. Several pharmacological effects of this species have been confirmed such as Antiulcerogenic [ 19 ], anti-inflammatory, analgesic [ 20 ], antispasmodic [ 21 ], antidiabetic [ 22 ], gastro-protective [ 23 ], litholytic effects [ 24 ], and hepatoprotective [ 25 ]. Moreover, this plant has shown an important antioxidant activity, and the chemical analysis of this plant has shown its richness of antioxidant molecules [ 26 ].…”