Evaluation of Invitro Antioxidant and Invivo Hepatoprotective Potency of Myristica Malabarica

Objective of the present study was to evaluate methanolic extract of Myristica malabarica for its hepatoprotective potential. Antioxidant activity of the extract was evaluated by using Diphenyl picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging, Hydrogen peroxide scavenging, 2, 2’-azino-bis, 3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid (ABTS) radical scavenging and Nitric oxide (NO) radical scavenging activity followed by determination of Total Phenol content. Hepatoprotective activity of the extract was evaluated by carbon tetrachloride (CCl 4) induced liver damage model in rats. Molecular mechanism of the hepatoprotective activity was studied through insilico approach using molecular docking against Nuclear Factor kappa B (NFkB) and Pregnane X receptors to identify the possible leads responsible for claimed activity. The extract demonstrated a significant dose dependent antioxidant activity with IC50 values at 0.02 mg/ml in DPPH assay, 0.107 mg/ml in Scavenging of hydrogen peroxide, 1.6 μg/ml in ABTS radical cation decolorization assay and 0.5 mg/ml in Nitric oxide scavenging assay which was comparable with that of Ascorbic acid. Animal groups treated with CCl4 recorded significant rise in serum markers reflecting hepatic damage. Pretreatment of the rats with methanolic extract of M. malabarica (200mg/kg p.o) inhibited the increase in serum levels of total bilirubin, total protein, serum alanine transaminase, aspartate transaminase and alkaline phosphatase reflecting the liver protection by crude drug and the data were comparable with silymarin (100mg/kg po). The present studies indicates that M. malabarica stem bark have significant free radical scavenging, hepatoprotective activity and possibility of Prunetin and Biochanin A becoming lead candidates for liver protection.