Hepatoprotective effects of partially purified fractions of Senna occidentalis ethanolic extract on diethyl nitrosamine-induced toxicity in Wistar rat

Background: Induction of toxicity using nitrosamines provides a reliable animal model for the study of oxidative damage to lipids, cellular membranes, proteins and DNA. In the present report, the effects of partially purified fractions of Senna occidentalis leaves on diethylnitrosamine intoxicated rats were studied. Methods: Fractions obtained from eluting the column with solvents of increasing polarity, n-hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, ethanol, methanol and distilled water were subjected to in vitro for their ability to scavenge 1, 1-dipheny l, 2-pycryl hydrazyl (DPPH) radical. Fraction 6a eluted with ethyl acetate:ethanol (50:50) possessed the highest antioxidant activity, this fraction was therefore selected for in vivo studies. Twenty rats, each weighing between 150 to 250 g were randomly allocated into four groups of five rats each. Hepatotoxicity was induced using a single intraperitoneal injection of diethylnitrosamine (DEN) at the 200 mg/kg body weight. Treatment was carried out for 3 weeks by oral gavage as follows: group A, normal control, group B, DEN control, group C, DEN+fraction (10 mg/kg), group D, DEN+silymarin (5 mg/kg). Results: The results showed that DEN toxicity significantly (p<0.05) increased alanine transaminase (ALT) and aspartate transaminase (AST) activities and increased the level of thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) in the liver. In contrast, the levels of bilirubin, total protein (TP) and albumin (ALB) decreased. However, treatment of rats with the extract significantly (p<0.05) reduced the concentrations of TBARS, ALT, AST and bilirubin, but increased the concentration of TP and ALB. Conclusions: These results show hepatoprotective potentials of the fraction. Furthermore, GC-MS fingerprinting of fraction 6a revealed the presence of compounds with anticancer, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties confirming its high chance for exploration as a medicinal agent.