Iran Red Crescent Med J. 2019 November; 21(11):e93718. Published online 2019 November 11. doi: 10.5812/ircmj.93718. Research Article Phytochemical Contents of Salvia grossheimii SOSN. Species Extract and Its Protective Effect on Alcohol-Induced Fatty Liver in Rats Seyed Morteza Hosseini 1 , Mostafa Asadbegy 1, * , Roya Karamian 2 and Siamak Yari 2 1 Medicine, Quran and Hadith Research Center, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 2 Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran * Corresponding author: Medicine, Quran and Hadith Research Center, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Tel: +98-9122499473; +98-2187554428, Fax: +98-2188068923, Email: mostafaasadbegy@yahoo.com Received 2019 May 14; Revised 2019 August 21; Accepted 2019 October 02. Abstract Background: Researchers are interested in finding new agents with natural sources to cure oxidant-induced diseases. Objectives: The study aimed at determining the antioxidant potential and protective effect of S. grossheimii extract against alcohol- induced fatty liver. Methods: This experimental study was performed in Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran. In 2016 - 2017. The sample size was de- termined to include 22 male Wistar rats (150 - 200 g) using Morgan’s table. In total, 18 rats were divided into three different groups to receive (1) 1 mL water daily (control), (2) 1 mL alcohol daily (alcohol group), and (3) 1 mL extract (500 mg/kg) and alcohol daily (al- cohol + extract). Tissue and blood samples were obtained to determine the protective effect of S. grossheimii extract against alcohol- induced fatty liver by histological and biochemical examinations. The antioxidant activity of the extract was also assessed by the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay. Results: The extract possessed stronger antiradical activity (IC50: 0.102 ± 0.002 mg/mL) than Vitamin C (IC50: 0.162 ± 0.009 mg/mL). The histological studies found liver tissue injury in group 2 and biochemical examinations indicated significantly lower (P < 0.05) total protein content (0.205 ± 0.002 mg/g.W.t) and superoxide dismutase (42.11 ± 0.18 U protein/min) enzyme tissue activity than group 1 (TP: 0.236 ± 0.003 mg/g.W.t and SOD: 62.22 ± 0.90). In addition, the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and hydrogen peroxide (H2 O2 ) were significantly higher (P < 0.05) than group 1. Also, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) serum enzyme levels (314.33 IU/L) were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in alcohol-treated animals than in group 1 (152.33 IU/L). However, these injuries were remarkably lower (P < 0.05) in animals treated by the extract (group 3). Conclusions: The results demonstrated the strong pharmaceutical activity of S. grossheimii extract to apply as a new antioxidant agent, especially for the treatment of fatty liver. Keywords: Antioxidants, Fatty Liver, Hydrogen Peroxide, Malondialdehyde, Oxidative Stress, Phytochemicals, Rats, Salvia grossheimii SOSN, Wistar 1. Background Alcohol drinks are being used widely in the world. Chronic alcohol consumption can induce oxidative stress and affect several organs of which, the liver is the primary target leading to social problems (Figure 1)(1-3). Alcohol- induced hepatotoxicity can cause the generation of free radicals such as reactive oxygen species (ROS), which in as- sociation with the cytochrome P 450 (CYP2E1) enzyme can af- fect lipid metabolisms such as triglyceride (TG) and malon- dialdehyde (MDA) as oxidative stress markers (1-4). Other studies suggested a mechanism for alcohol-induced hep- atotoxicity via changing gene expression related to cy- tokines as inflammatory factors such as Interleukin 6 (IL- 6), Interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF- α)(5-7). However, there are no agents or drugs to protect the liver and decrease the speed of alcohol-induced hepa- totoxicity progression (8). Phytochemicals as antioxidant agents are plant-based compounds that act as free radical scavengers to pre- vent oxidative stress injuries in the body (Figure 1)(6, 7, 9). Several studies showed that alcohol hepatotoxic- ity can be decreased by using antioxidants including vi- tamins A, C, and E (6), pentoxifylline as an inhibitor of TNF-α, anti-inflammatory and other cytokines (7), glu- tathione, epigallocatechin-3-gallate (6), N-acetyl-L-cysteine (7), methanolic and aqueous extracts of Acorus calamus, Vitis vinifera, and Trigonella foenum graecum (6, 10), and Copyright © 2019, Author(s). This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits copy and redistribute the material just in noncommercial usages, provided the original work is properly cited