239 National Journal of Physiology, Pharmacy and Pharmacology 2019 | Vol 9 | Issue 3 RESEARCH ARTICLE Evaluation of hepatoprotective activity of aqueous extract of Phyllanthus fraternus in Wistar rats Naveen Alasyam 1 , Naveen Pokala 2 , Premendran John 3 1 Department of Pharmacology, Vishnu Dental College, Bhimavaram, Andhra Pradesh, India, 2 Department of Pharmacology, Mamata Medical College, Khammam, Telangana, India, 3 Department of Pharmacology, Mamata Medical College, Khammam, Telangana, India Correspondence to: Naveen Pokala, E-mail: naveenpokala@yahoo.com Received: December 18, 2018; Accepted: January 12, 2019 ABSTRACT Background: We hypothesized that carbon tetrachloride-induced hepatotoxicity may be prevented by oral administration of Phyllanthus fraternus extract by inhibiting lipid peroxidation. Aims and Objectives: The present study was undertaken to evaluate the hepatoprotective activity of the aqueous extract of P. fraternus (AEPF) in Wistar rats. Materials and Methods: Five groups of Wistar rats were selected from 30 healthy animals, with six rats in each group. Group A received normal saline 10 ml/kg (p.o). Group B animals were fed with normal saline (10 ml/kg, p.o.). Group C animals were treated with Liv 52–100 mg/kg orally. Groups D and E rats were treated with plant extract orally once daily at the dosage of 250 and 500 mg/kg, respectively. Total duration of experiment is 20 days; CCl4: Olive oil was given i.p on 2 nd , 5 th , and 8 th days for all group of rats except Group A. On the 21 st day, biochemical parameters such as serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT), serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase (SGPT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), bilirubin, cholesterol, and total protein were estimated from the collected blood. Liver tissues were collected from rats for histopathological examination. Results: P. fraternus exhibited judicious defensive effect by lowering (serum levels of SGOT, SGPT, ALP, bilirubin, and cholesterol) and rising total protein levels. The reduction of necrosis and sinusoids was observed in histopathological examination. Conclusion: The present study results support that the AEPF have a dose- dependent hepatoprotective activity. KEY WORDS: Carbon Tetrachloride; Hepatoprotective Activity; Phyllanthus fraternus; Biochemical Parameters; Necrosis INTRODUCTION Plants were used during the age for cure and treatment of diseases since the start of mankind. Phytotherapy is the isolation of pure phytochemicals from the plant and plant extract to cure the diseases. Plants have been used to treat the many diseases such as liver diseases, heart problems, lead and mercury intoxication, and scarlet fever. [1] Only 1–2% of the global plants have been Access this article online Website: www.njppp.com Quick Response code DOI: 10.5455/njppp.2019.9.1237012012019 National Journal of Physiology, Pharmacy and Pharmacology Online 2019. © 2019 Naveen Pokala, et al. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creative commons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), allowing third parties to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format and to remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially, provided the original work is properly cited and states its license. reasonably well investigated out of 250,000–500, 000 species of plants. Even today, the synthetic drugs are superior in their number than the natural ones, but still many synthetic drugs have been derived from plants and animals. [2] The liver is the main organ for biotransformation and elimination. It is always capable with the task of detoxification of xenobiotics, environmental pollutants, and chemotherapeutic agents. [3] CCl4, paracetamol, D-galactosamine, alcohol, rifampicin, and thioacetamide produce hepatotoxicity through different mechanisms. [4] Therefore, these drugs are called hepatotoxic agents. Phyllanthus fraternus belongs to Euphorbiaceae [5] family. It is frequently called as “Bhumyamlaki” (Nela vusiri). Various biological activities of this plant are hepatoprotective National Journal of Physiology, Pharmacy and Pharmacology