Hepatoprotective effects of Falcaria vulgaris exteract against carbon- tetrachloride induced liver injury in rats

Objectives: Falcaria vulgaris (locally named Paghazeh) is a member of Umbelliferae family and is used in the folk medicines of the west of Iran. The present study was conducted to assess the hepatoprotective effects of the ethanolic extract of Falcaria vulgaris on carbon-tetrachloride (CCl4) induced liver damage in rats. Material Methods: Twenty–five healthy adult male wistar rats were randomly divided into five equal groups as follows: normal group (receiving, olive oil), toxicant control group (receiving 1 ml/kg, 50% CCl4 suspended in olive oil and experiment groups were orally treated with ethanolic extract (50, 100, 150 mg/kg) daily, with administration of CCl4 (1 ml/kg, 50 % CCl4 in olive oil,IP) twice a week for 14 days. At the end of the study, all the rats were sacrificed and biochemical parameters of serum such as Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP), total proptein (TP), total bilirubin(TB) and albumin(ALB) were estimated. Data were analyzed using one way ANOVA and Tukey’s test. Result Conclusion: The animals treated with CCl4 exhibited a significant (P 0.05) rise in levels of ALT, AST, ALP, TB, and a significant (P 0.05) decrease in TP and ALB levels. Oral administration of Falcaria vulgaris extracts showed a significant (P 0.05) decrease in all the elevated serum and significant increase (P 0.05) in TP and ALB levels at a dose-dependent manner. These findings suggest that the extract of Falcaria vulgaris possessed hepatoprotective activity, which might be due to their phytochemical constituents and their antioxidant and free radical scavenging properties.