Preliminary Characterization of Phenolic Acid Composition and Hepatoprotective Effect of Stachys pumila

The present study aimed to investigate phenolic acid composition, antioxidant activity and hepatoprotective potential of Stachys pumila extract (SPE) against CCl4-induced acute hepatotoxicity. Pretreatment of rats with SPE significantly (P < 0.01) ameliorated both the increased levels of ALT, AST, OSI, MDA and the decreased activities of SOD and CAT, as compared to CCl4-control group. Histological and biochemical examinations revealed that SPE was more potent than reference drug silymarin in protecting the liver from toxic injury of CCl4 and preserving the hepatocyte ultrastructure. The phenolic acid profile of the methanol extract was determined quantitatively by HPLC/DAD. Ferulic acid was found as the predominant phenolic acid among the analyzed phenolic acids. SPE exerted high antioxidant effect according to in vitro antioxidant activity tests. Taken together, these results suggest that SPE could be a candidate as promising therapeutic agent for treating oxidative stress-related hepatic injury and other diseases. Practical Applications Recently, there has been a tremendous surge of interest in medicinal plants because of their high efficacy, safety and cost effectiveness. Among the identified medicinal plants, only a small percentage has been phytochemically investigated and submitted to pharmacological screening. Thus, more research is needed to discover the bioactive chemical components that are responsible for the claimed medicinal effects of the herbs. As a prominent local medicinal plant, Stachys pumila has been widely used against gastrointestinal disorders even though there is no scientific proof of its effectiveness. This study is the first to reveal the hepatoprotective activity of S. pumila against hepatotoxicity and to identify its phytochemicals. The results of the present study show that S. pumila extract protects the liver better than the reference drug silymarin against CCl4 induced hepatic injury. S. pumila could offer a novel alternative to the limited therapeutic options that exist for the treatment of liver diseases.