Original Article Hepatoprotective activity of Cichorium intybus (Linn.) root extract against carbon tetrachloride induced hepatotoxicity in albino Wistar rats Bhaskara Reddy Nallamilli a, *, Ch.S. Phani Kumar b , K. Veer Reddy c , M. Lakshmi Prasanna c , V. Maruthi c , P. Sucharita c a Department of Pharmacology, VJ’S College of Pharmacy, Rajahmundry 533103, Andhra Pradesh, India b Aditya Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research, Surampalem 533437, Andhra Pradesh, India c VJ’S College of Pharmacy, Rajahmundry 533103, Andhra Pradesh, India article info Article history: Received 28 July 2013 Accepted 26 August 2013 Available online 11 November 2013 Keywords: Hepatoprotective activity Cichorium intybus (Linn.) Carbon tetrachloride Silymarin abstract Hepatotoxicity in one of the major parameters need to be consider in drug therapy, because most of the drugs in single at low/high doses for a prolonged period or multiple drug therapy causes liver damage. Chicory is a Mediterranean herb that has been used as a coffee filler or substitute. It contains no caffeine and has a chocolate-like flavor Aim: The present study aimed to investigates the possible hepatoprotective activity of Cichorium intybus (Linn.) against carbon tetrachloride induced hepatotoxicity in albino Wistar rats. Methods: Alcoholic and aqueous extracts of the C. intybus (Linn.) roots were used in the study for determination of hepatoprotective activity against carbon tetrachloride induced hepatotoxicity in albino Wistar rats. A comparison was also made between the actions of C. intybus (Linn.) root extracts and a known hepatoprotective drug silymarin. Preliminary phytochemical screening was carried. Biochemical parameters like SGOT, SGPT, SALP and total bilirubin and histopathological studies were used to evaluate the hepatoprotective activity. Acute toxicity studies were carried out according to OECD (420) guidelines and 400 mg/kg BW for both extracts was selected for the present study. Results: Showed that both extracts found to have significant hepatoprotective activity, re- duces the elevated levels of SGOT, SGPT, SALP and Total bilirubin. But aqueous extract found to have hepatoprotective activity almost compared to silymarin. Histopathology showed regeneration of hepatocytes to normal, with the root extracts further confirmed the hepatoprotective activity of extracts of C. intybus (Linn.). Conclusion: Results indicate that it is worth undertaking further studies on possible use- fulness of the extracts of the roots of C. intybus (Linn.) in hepatotoxicity. Copyright ª 2013, JPR Solutions; Published by Reed Elsevier India Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved. * Corresponding author. Department of Pharmacology, VJ’S College of Pharmacy, Sy. No: 721, DBV Raju Township, Diwancheruvu, Rajahmundry 533103, E. G. Dist., Andhra Pradesh, India. E-mail address: bhaskarareddypharma@gmail.com (B.R. Nallamilli). Available online at www.sciencedirect.com journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/dit drug invention today 5 (2013) 311 e314 0975-7619/$ e see front matter Copyright ª 2013, JPR Solutions; Published by Reed Elsevier India Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dit.2013.08.005