Hepatoprotective activity of the methanolic leaf extract of Moringa oleifera (Lam) against chemically-induced Liver Toxicity

  • Authors

    • Herbert Mbagwu Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology,,University of Uyo,Nigeria
    • Etok Nsikan
    • Ekpo Emem
    2016-04-07
    https://doi.org/10.14419/ijpt.v4i1.5123
  • Antioxidant, carbon tetrachloride, hepatitis, necrosis, silymarin.

  • Abstract

    Aim: Moringa oleifera commonly known as “miracle plant†possesses enormous nutritional and medicinal properties. It is used in traditional medicine in treating many ailments, including liver disorders. Though some works on hepatoprotective effects have been done (Mishra et al., 2011), the present study aims at evaluating the methanolic leaf extract (MLE) of Moringa oleifera harvested in Ewet Housing Estate in Uyo; AkwaIbom State in South-South Nigeria.

    Materials and Methods: The Carbon tetrachloride (CClâ‚„) model was employed throughout this investigation (Dongare et al., 2013). Briefly, thirty animals were randomly divided into six groups of five animals in each group. Group I served as normal control and was administered 10ml/kg normal saline. Group II was the toxic control and received 3 ml/kg of CClâ‚„. Group III served as the reference control and received 100mg/kg silymarin while groups IV, V and VI received 9, 18 and 27 mg/kg of MLE respectively. Phytochemical screening, acute toxicity tests as well as free radical scavenging effects using DPPH (in vitro) were also carried out.

    Results: Preliminary phytochemical tests revealed the presence of tannins, flavonoids, alkaloids, anthraquinones, saponins, terpenes, phlobatanins and cardiac glycosides. The acute toxicity investigations showed that MLE LDâ‚…â‚€ was 90 mg/kg. In the hepatoprotective studies, liver function tests (LFT) revealed a significant (p<0.05) protective effect when compared with silymarin. The histopathological studies also provided supportive evidence for the protective effects of MLE. The DPPH studies showed that MLE has antioxidant property.

    Conclusion: It can be concluded based on findings from this study that the MLE of Moringa oleifera possesses antioxidant and hepatoprotective activities in a dose-dependent manner and safe for oral administration.

  • References

    1. [1] Blois M.S. (1958). Antioxidant determination by use of a stable free radical. Nature; 26: 1199-1200

      [2] Chatterjee, T. K. (2000). Medicinal Plants with Hepatoprotective Properties in Herbal Options. Books & Allied (P) Ltd, Calcutter; 3:135.

      [3] Dongare P.P., Dhande S.R., Kadam V.J. (2013). Standardization of Carbon tetrachloride-Induced Hepatotoxicity in Rats. Amr. J. Pharm Tech Res. 3(5).

      [4] Ganatra T. J., Joshi U. H., Bhalodia P.N., Desai T. R., Tirgar P.R. (2012). A Panoramic view on Pharmacognostic, Pharmacological, Nutritional, Therapeutic and Prophylactic value of Moringa oleifera Lam. IRJP.3 (6).

      [5] Goyal B.R., Agrawal B.A., Goyal R.K., Mehta A.A. (2007). Phyto-pharmacology of Moringa oleiferaLam.Ó An overview. Natural Product Radiance, Vol. 6(4), pp.347-353.

      [6] Gupta, A. K., Misra, N. (2006). Hepatoprotective Activity of Aqueous Ethanolic Extract of Chamomile capitula in Paracetamol Intoxicated Albino Rats. American Journal of PharmTech Research 1(1): 17-20.

      [7] Kshirsagar, A., Purnima, A.,Ingawale, D., Vyawahare, N., Ingale, K., Hadambar, A. (2009). Antioxidant and Hepatoprotective Activity of Ethanolic extract of Calotropisgigantea against Paracetamol-induced Liver Damage in Mice. Journal of Cell and Tissue Research. Vol. 9(2): pp 1859-1864.

      [8] Manokaran, S., Jaswanth, A., Sengottuvela, S., Nandhakumar, J., Duraisamy, R., Karthikeyan, D., Mallegaswari, R. (2008). Hepathoprotective Activity of Aervalanata Linn. Against Paracetomol-induced Hepatotoxicity in Rats. Research Journal of Pharmacy and Technology 1(4): pp 398-400.

      [9] Mishra G. et al.,(2011). “Traditional uses, phytochemistry and pharmacological properties of Moringa oleifera Plant: an overviewâ€, Scholars Research Library, Der Pharmacia Lettre, 3(2): 141-164

      [10] Panda, B. B., Gaur, K., Nema, R. K., Sharma, C. S., Jain, A. K., Jain, C. P. (2009). Hepatoprotective activity of Jatrophagossypifolia against Carbon tetrachloride-induced hepatic injury in rats. Asian Journal of Pharmaceutical and Clinical Research, 2(1): 50-54.

      [11] Paramveer, D., Mishra, C., Rani, A., Shrivastava, B., Rajesh, K. (2010). Effective Alternative Methods of LDâ‚…â‚€ help to Save Number of Experimental Animals. Journal of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Research, 2(6): 450-453.

      [12] Potapovich, A. I. and Kostyuk, V. A. (2003). Comparative study of antioxidant properties and cytoprotective activity of flavonoids. J. Biochem. 68(5):514-519

      [13] Singh, A., Tejk, B., Sharma, O. (2011). Clinical Biochemistry of Hepatotoxicity. Journal Clinical Toxicology.http://dx.doi.org/10.4172/2161-0495.54-001.

      [14] Singh, S., Thomas, M. B., Singh, P., Bhowmik, D. (2013). Plants used in hepatoprotective remedies in traditional indian medicine. Indian journal of research in pharmacy and biotechnology. Vol. 1, issue 1, pp. 58-63.

      [15] Suman P., Siva S. N., Durga P.P., Subas C.D., Vikas S., Amol J. (2011). Hepatotoxicity Activity of Crude Flavonoids Extract of Cajanusscarabaeoides (L) in Paracetamol Intoxicated Albino Rats.

      [16] Trease G.E. and Evans W.C. (2002). Pharmacognosy. 15th Ed. London: Saunders Publisher. Pp 42-44, 221-229, 246-249,304-306, 331-332, 391-393.

  • Downloads

  • How to Cite

    Mbagwu, H., Nsikan, E., & Emem, E. (2016). Hepatoprotective activity of the methanolic leaf extract of Moringa oleifera (Lam) against chemically-induced Liver Toxicity. International Journal of Pharmacology and Toxicology, 4(1), 40-46. https://doi.org/10.14419/ijpt.v4i1.5123

    Received date: 2015-07-29

    Accepted date: 2015-08-23

    Published date: 2016-04-07