Article Sidebar
DOI:
10.4314/as.v7i1.1588Article Details
Issue
Section
Articles
The Editorial Board of AgroScience and the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Nigeria, Nsukka are committed to disseminating the research publications in AgroScience Journal as widely as possible. In line with this commitment, the Editorial Board of AgroScience has adopted the policy of Open Access, with the content licensed under Creative Commons Attrition License (CCBY). On this premise, every author grants to the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Nigeria, Nsukka irrevocable, nonexclusive permission to exercise the copyright in the article for the purpose of open dissemination.
Main Article Content
Hepatoprotective Activities Of Methanolic Extract Of Nauclea Latifolia
Abstract
The hepatoprotective activity of the root bark extract of Nauclea latifolia was tested in vivo. The root bark was defatted with diethyl ether and then extracted with methanol and the methanolic extract was recovered on a 9.3 % w/w yield. The LD50 of the methanolic extract in rats was 300 mg/kg (i.p). It showed no significant effect on pentobarbital-induced sleep in rats after i.p. injection. The extract significantly reduced pentobarbital-induced sleep in paracetmol and carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) intoxicated rats. The elevataion of Aspartate aminotransferase (AST), Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and alkaline phosphatase (AP) induced by paracetamol and CCl4 intoxication in rats was also significantly (P<0.05) attenuated by the extract. The methanolic extract reduced the leakage of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in isolated rat heptocytes but had no significant effect on lipid peroxidation. It is suggested that the methanolic extract of N. latifolia might contain hepatoprotective principles that support its use in the treatment of liver diseases traditionally.
Agro-Science Vol. 7 (1) 2008: pp. 72-77
