Hepatoprotective effect of Woodfordia fruticosa Kurz flowers on diclofenac sodium induced liver toxicity in rats.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the protective effect of Woodfordia fruticosa Kurz flowers against experimentally induced liver toxicity in rats.

METHODS: Two different doses of methanol extract of Woodfordia fruticosa (WFM) were evaluated for the hepatoprotective activity against diclofenac sodium induced hepatotoxicity in rats. Various biochemical parameters like alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), total protein (TP), albumin (ALB), blood urea nitrogen (BUN) from serum; total protein (TP), glutathione (GSH) levels, catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activities from liver were studied; histopathologic changes of liver were also evaluated.

RESULTS: WFM effectively reduced the elevated levels of serum ALT, AST, ALP and BUN, enhanced the reduced TP, ALB and hepatic GSH, CAT, GPx activity. The histopathological analysis suggested that WFM decreased the degree of liver fibrosis induced by diclofenac.

CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates the hepatoprotective activity of WFM and thus scientifically support the use of this plant in traditional medicine for the treatment of liver disorders.