Hepatoprotective and antioxidant effects of the methanolic extract from Halenia elliptica

Aims of study

Halenia elliptica, a medicinal herb of Tibetan origin, was commonly used in folk medicine to treat hepatitis. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the hepatoprotective and antioxidant activity of Halenia elliptica against experimentally induced liver injury.

Materials and methods

The antioxidant property of methanolic extract (ME) of Halenia elliptica was investigated by employing various established in vitro systems. The ME of Halenia elliptica was studied here for its hepatoprotective effects against CCl₄-induced liver toxicity in rats. Activity was measured by monitoring the levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and total bilirubin.

Results

The ME possessed strong antioxidant activity in vitro. The results of CCl₄-induced liver toxicity experiment showed that rats treated with the ME of Halenia elliptica (100 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg), and also the standard treatment, silymarin (50 mg/kg), showed a significant decrease in ALT, AST, ALP, and total bilirubin levels, which were all elevated in the CCl₄ group (p < 0.01). The results observed after administration of 100 mg/kg ME were comparable to those of silymarin at 50 mg/kg (p > 0.05). The ME did not show any mortality at doses up to 2000 g/kg body weight.

Conclusion

These results seem to support the traditional use of Halenia elliptica in pathologies involving hepatotoxicity, and the possible mechanism of this activity may be due to strong free radical-scavenging and antioxidant activities of ME.