Research Article Evaluation of Hepatoprotective Activity of Adansonia digitata Extract on Acetaminophen-Induced Hepatotoxicity in Rats Abeer Hanafy, 1 Hibah M. Aldawsari, 2 Jihan M. Badr, 3 Amany K. Ibrahim, 4 and Seham El-Sayed Abdel-Hady 2 1 Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia 2 Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia 3 Department of Natural Products and Alternative Medicine, Faculty of Pharmacy, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia 4 Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Suez Canal University, Ismailia 41522, Egypt Correspondence should be addressed to Jihan M. Badr; jihanbadr2010@hotmail.com Received 20 November 2015; Accepted 16 February 2016 Academic Editor: Mario Giorgi Copyright © 2016 Abeer Hanafy et al. Tis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Te methanol extract of the fruit pulp of Adansonia digitata L. (Malvaceae) was examined for its hepatoprotective activity against liver damage induced by acetaminophen in rats. Te principle depends on the fact that administration of acetaminophen will be associated with development of oxidative stress. In addition, hepatospecifc serum markers will be disturbed. Treatment of the rats with the methanol extract of the fruit pulp of Adansonia digitata L. prior to administration of acetaminophen signifcantly reduced the disturbance in liver function. Liver functions were measured by assessment of total protein, total bilirubin, ALP, ALT, and AST. Oxidative stress parameter and antioxidant markers were also evaluated. Moreover, histopathological evaluation was performed in order to assess liver case regarding infammatory infltration or necrosis. Animals were observed for any symptoms of toxicity afer administration of extract of the fruit pulp of Adansonia digitata L. to ensure safety of the fruit extract. 1. Introduction Modern food styles, excessive medications, and exposure to pollutants besides many other factors have led to many serious diseases including liver damage [1]. Production of reactive oxygen species is considered as a crucial factor leading to oxidative damage of tissues. Tey react with cell membrane; accordingly, many clinical disorders could be attributed to these free radicals [2]. Recently, herbal products have gained attention as a major part of alternative medicine [3, 4]. It is reported that a signifcant percentage of population depend on natural derived medicines for maintaining health and treatment of diseases [5]. Nowadays, discovery of new drug leads seems to focus on those of plant origin. Herbal drugs play a signifcant role in the regeneration of liver cells and acceleration of healing process and hence management of many liver disorders [2]. One of the comprehensive examples is silymarin isolated from Silybum marianum. Silymarin is a mixture of phenolic compounds (favonolignans) well known for their radical scavenging activities and thus plays a role in prevention and treatment of oxidative damage caused by reactive oxygen species. Nowadays, silymarin is considered as a major component of many important pharmaceutical preparations in the market introduced for treatment of liver diseases [2, 6, 7]. Based on the fact that a tremendous number of plants could be considered as a gold mine for discovery of hepatoprotective agents, we launched our study in a trial to investigate the fruit pulp of Adansonia digitata L. Our aim here is to discover naturally derived therapeutic agents with hepatoprotective efect. Our work will focus on Adansonia digitata L. (commonly known as baobab) which is a tree native to Central Africa and belongs to family Malvaceae. Te pulp of baobab fruit is a very impor- tant food. It is used by dissolving in milk or in water. Hindawi Publishing Corporation Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine Volume 2016, Article ID 4579149, 7 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/4579149