Hepatoprotective Fractions from Methanol Extract of Tetracarpidium conophorum (African walnut) seeds

Abstract

Tetracarpidium conophorum (African walnut) is an African plant with a lot of indigenous claims. The present study was to investigate the hepatoprotective effect of fractions [Hexane (HEX-F), Dichloromethane (DCM-F) and, ethyl acetate (EA-F)] from crude methanol extract of T. conophorum (African Walnut) seeds in rats intoxicated with carbon tetrachloride after 24 hr and 48 hr of induction respectively. Sixty male Wistar rats were distributed equally into fifteen groups. Group IA (control) received distilled water and olive oil (i.p), group IIA rats were intoxicated with CCl4 in olive oil (600 mg/kg, i.p.) only on the 8th day, groups IIIA was given 100 mg/kg of sylimarin, while groups IVA-IXA were administered the different fractions at 250 mg/kg and 500 mg/kg doses respectively for 7 days, thereafter intoxicated with CCl4 on the 8th day. Groups XA-XVA was intoxicated with CCl4 on the 8th day and administered 250 mg/kg and 500 mg/kg of the fractions at 1hr, 6hr, 12hr, 18 hr and 24 hr. This procedure was repeated for a different set of sixty (groups IB-VXB) male rats after 48 hrs of induction. . Results show that there were significant increases (p˂0.001) in alanine amino transferase (ALT), aspartate amino transferase (AST), gamma glutamyl trans peptidase (γ GT) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activities in rats administered CCl4 after 24 hr and 48 hr respectively, but pretreatment and post treatment with the hexane and ethyl acetate fractions possess potent hepatoprotective action against CCl4-induced hepatic damage by lowering liver marker enzymes. Therefore methanol extract of T. conophorum exhibited hepatoprotective activity against CCl4 induced liver damage.