HEPATOPROTECTIVE ACTIVITY OF SMILAX CHINENSIS L. IN CARBON TETRACHLORIDE INDUCED HEPATOTOXICITY IN RATS
It has been used in folk medicine for the treatment of liver disorders. The aim of this work is to study the hepatoprotective effect of crude methanol extract from the rhizomes of Smilax chinensis L. The methanol extract obtained from rhizomes of Smilax chinensis L. were evaluated for hepatoprotective activity in rats by inducing liver damage by carbon tetrachloride. The methanol extract at an oral dose of 200 and 400mg/kg/p.o. exhibited a significant (P < 0.05) protective effect by lowering serum levels of SGOT, SGPT, alkaline phosphatase and bilirubin and increasing the levels of total protein levels as compared to silymarin used as a positive control. These biochemical observations were supplemented by histopathological examination of liver sections. The activity may be a result of the presence of flavonoid compounds. Furthermore, the acute toxicity of the extracts showed no signs of toxicity up to a dose level of 2000 mg/kg. Thus it could be concluded that methanol extract of Smilax chinensis L. possesses significant hepatoprotective properties