Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Telfairia occidentalis Leave Extracts in the Amelioration of Carbon Tetrachloride Induced Liver Injuries and Oxidative Damage in Rats

Aims: The study was aimed to investigate the efficacy of Telfairia occidentalis (T. occidentalis) extracts in the attenuation of CCl4-mediated oxidative stress.

Place and Duration of Study: Department of Biochemistry, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomosho, Nigeria, between June 2014 and December 2015.

Methodology: Twenty-four male wistar albino rats (180-220 g) were divided into four groups (1-4) of six rats each. In group 1 the rats received only water, group 2 received single dose of equal mixture of carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) and olive oil (50%, v/v, 1.25 mL/kg i.p.), while animals in group 3 and 4 received CCl4 + 50 mg/kg of T. occidentalis and CCl4 + 100 mg/kg of T. occidentalis respectively. The antioxidant activity of T. occidentalis was evaluated in vitro using DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging assay.

Results: Our results showed that CCl4 induction elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) levels significantly (P<0.05) while activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and reduced glutathione (GSH) were significant (P<0.05) reduced. However, administering T. occidentalis extract at the doses of 50 and 100 mg/kg caused reversal of the effects significantly. T. occidentalis was found to contain high level of total phenolic content (34.65 mg/g in GAE/g dried weight). The implication of these results is that T. occidentalis may be useful in the management of oxidative stress-related organ injuries.

Conclusion: The antioxidant and hepatoprotective activities observed in this study could be due to the ability of phenolic compounds constituents of T. occidentalis which are able to absorb, neutralize and quench free radicals.