American Journal of Biochemistry 2013, 3(2): 62-65 DOI: 10.5923/j.ajb.20130302.06 Antioxidant and Antiperoxidative Activities of Aqueous Extract of Hibiscus sabdariffa L. Calyx on Alcohol-induced Hepatic Lipid Peroxidation in Rats Dahiru Daniel 1,* , Umaru Hauwa Aduwamai 1 , Vasira Blessing 2 , Agama Abigail Michael 1 1 Department of Biochemistry, School of Pure and Applied Sciences, Modibbo Adama University of Technology, Yola, Adamawa State, Niger ia 2 Department of Chemical Pathology, State Specialist Hospital Yola, Adamawa State Abstract The protective effect of aqueous extract of Hibiscus sabdariffa calyx (HSC) was investigated on antioxidant and non-antioxidant enzymes in alcohol-induced hepatic lipid peroxidation using male rats. Administration of 32% alcohol solution (v/v, 2 ml/100g body weight 12 hourly for 72 hrs) to rats significantly (P < 0.05) increased the levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), cholesterol (CHO), triglyceride (TG) and lipid peroxidation (LP) as measured by thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) but significantly (P < 0.05) decreased the levels of glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione reductase (GR) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) when compared to values obtained from normal rats. Pretreatment with 250 and 500 mg/kg body weight (bw) of HSC both significantly (P < 0.05) inhibited the levels of ALT, AST, ALP, CHO, TG and LP. However, both doses of HSC significantly (P < 0.05) increased the levels of GPx and SOD when compared to values of rats administered alcohol only. The study demonstrated that one of the mechanisms of alcohol-induced hepatic damage is through lipid peroxidation and aqueous extract of Hibiscus sabdariffa calyx offers good protection to the liver through inhibition of lipid peroxidation and increased antioxidant enzyme level. Keywords Hibiscus sabdariffa, Alcohol, Lipid Peroxidation, Antioxidant Enzymes 1. Introduction Alcohol (ethanol) consumption represent a serious hazard to health, the second most widely used psychoactive substance in the world[19]. Alcohol when consumed is usually metabolized by the liver first to acetaldehyde then to acetate. Finally, acetate is oxidized to carbon dioxide and, fatty acid and water[2]. Consumption of alcohol produces a number of changes in cell function and oxidant-antioxidant system[22] leading to generation of reactive oxygen species. These reactive oxygen species if not removed from the system can lead to different types of tissue toxicity including liver damage[9]. As a consequence of the constant oxidative challenge, cells have evolved antioxidant systems to counter the pro-oxidant fluxes. One of such systems is antioxidant enzymes, which include catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and superoxide dismutase, SOD[21]. Hibiscus sabdariffa (roselle) belongs to the family Malvaceae which is cultivated predominantly in the tropical * Corresponding author: ddahiru2000@yahoo.com (Dahiru Daniel) Published online at http://journal.sapub.org/ajb Copyright © 2013 Scientific & Academic Publishing. All Rights Reserved and subtropical regions. The calyxes of the plant have been used for different purposes including beverages, candies and jellies. It is a folk remedy for abscesses, dysuria, fever, hypertension and scurvy[8]. Pharmacological properties of the plant calyx extract include anticancer effect[11], hepatoprotective activity against carbon tetrachloride toxicity[5], nephroprotective activity[16], protection against cadmium induced oxidative stress[17], neuroprotective effect[15]. The bioactive compounds present in Hibiscus sabdariffa include anthocyanins, citric and malic acids, tartaric acid, flavonol glycosides gosypitrin, myricetin, hibicetrin, querceetin, protocatechuic acid and sterol[1]. Alcohol is known to induce liver damage through hepatic lipid peroxidation. This study was carried out to investigate the antioxidant and antiperoxidative activities of aqueous extract of Hibiscus sabdariffa calyx on alcohol-induced hepatic lipid peroxidation. 2. Materials and Methods 2.1. Plant Material Hibiscus sabdariffa calyx was collected from one of the farms at Modibbo Adama University of Technology, Yola.