Screening of Hepatoprotective Effects of Four Different Brands of Polyherbal Bitter Formulations against Tetrachloromethane (CCl4) Induced Hepatotoxicity In Wistar Rats

Abstract

Polyherbal bitters are a diverse group of formulation products used to strenghten and improve the whole digestive system in the body as well as nervous system. The aim of this study is to evaluate the phytochemical constituents and the hepatoprotective activity against tetrachloromethane (CCl4) induced liver injury in wistar rats for four different brands of polyherbal bitter formulations.The phytochemical tests were carried out with standard procedures while thirty (30) rats were used for hepaprotective study with weights ranging from 180 – 260g. The animals were divided into six groups, group 1 served as control and received 0.9% normal saline, group 2 – 6 received CCl4 intraperitoneally on alternate days (five days) for a peroid of ten days , while group 2 – 5 were administered (2.6 ml/kg/day) of each of the four different brands of polyherbal bitter formulations (SAMPLES Y, S, L, B) respectively daily for nine days. The animals were anaesthesized after the last dose of carbon tetrachloride and blood samples were taken via cardiac puncture for hematological and biochemical analysis after which the animals were euthanized and four organs (liver, kidney, lungs and brain) were removed for histological analysis. The CCl4 toxicity in group 6 significantly increased Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT) Aspartate Aminotransferase (AST) and Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP) (39.10 ± 2.4, 131.4 ± 0.73, 208.60 ± 4.6 respectively as compared to normal control group 1 of ALT, AST and ALP, 30.36 ± 1.24, 3.96 ± 1.27, 24.04 ± 3.81 respectively, (P<0.05). It was observed that there was a decrease in enzyme biomarkers (Aspartate and Alanine Transaminase) of liver injury in the herbal mixture treated groups. In the microscopic studies, CCl4 induced toxicity showed haemorrhages, fatty changes and necrosis. All the four herbal formulations conclusively showed marked beneficial effects as revealed in biochemical and histological parameters. It can be concluded that the four polyherbal bitters protect the liver. The present findings demonstrated the efficacy of polyherbal liquid formulations in protecting the liver in CCl4 induced hepatotoxicity in Wistar rats.