Thesis (M.Sc.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Pharmacy - Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology `

Paracetamol is an extensively used analgesic and antipyretic drug. Overdose of paracetamol, however, is one of the prevailing causes of liver failure worldwide. The present investigation aimed at estimating the hepatoprotective activity of chicory and morus alba leaf extract against paracetamol-induced liver damage in rats, using silymarin as a reference standard. Both extracts (200 and 400 mg/kg, p.o.) were administered for four weeks while silymarin was administered for one week. One hour after the last dose of the tested agents, hepatotoxicity was induced by paracetamol (2 g/kg), orally administered to fasting rats in a single dose. Both doses of chicory and morus alba extracts significantly suppressed liver enzymes (alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase and alkaline phosphatase) activities and total bilirubin level as well as liver lesions evoked by paracetamol overdose. Concomitantly, chicory and morus alba extracts improved the hepatic oxidative status as manifested by elevation of liver nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and antioxidant enzymes as glutamate cysteine ligase and hemeoxygenase-1 contents as well as glutathione reductase activity. They also raised liver glutathione redox ratio (Reduced glutathione/Oxidized glutathione) and repressed liver lipoperoxidation

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