Pharmacological evaluation of Ipomoea asarifolia (Desr.) against carbon tetrachloride-induced hepatotoxicity in rats.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Ipomoeaasarifolia (Desr.) Roem. and Schult. is used traditionally in some parts of Africa for the treatment of a variety of diseases. This study attempts to validate its hepatoprotective activity by evaluating the prophylactic and curative properties of the methanolic extract of Ipomoea asarifolia (IA) leaves.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Liver damage was induced by administering 0.5 ml/kg of an equal mixture of carbon tetrachloride (CCl(4)) in olive oil intraperitoneally on alternate days, for 5 days and the plant extract was given orally daily, for 7 days at doses of 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg.

RESULTS: Pre-treatment with the extract significantly (P<0.05) decreased CCl(4)-induced elevation in serum levels of alanine transaminase, aspartate transaminase, alkaline phosphatase, triglycerides, bilirubin and cholesterol, better than the standard drug silymarin at 100 mg/kg. In the curative study, IA significantly (P<0.05) reversed CCl(4)-induced liver damage, comparable to silymarin. Hepatoprotective potential was further supported by decrease in pentobarbitone sleeping time and improved hepatic tissue histopathology.

CONCLUSION: These results indicate that I. asarifolia leaves have potent hepatoprotective activity against CCl(4)-induced hepatic damage in rats.