Journal of Ethnopharmacology 66 (1999) 355 – 361 Short communication Hepatoprotective activity of leaves of Cassia occidentalis against paracetamol and ethyl alcohol intoxication in rats M.A. Jafri a, *, M. Jalis Subhani a , Kalim Javed a , Surender Singh b a Department of Ilmul Adia, Faculty of Medicine(Unani), Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi 1062, India b Department of Pharmacology, College of Pharmacy, Pushp Vihar, New Delhi, India Received 22 October 1998; received in revised form 22 February 1999; accepted 26 February 1999 Abstract Cassia occidentalis L. (Caesalpiniaceae), commonly known as ‘Kasondi’, is used in Unani medicine for liver ailments and is an important ingredient of several polyherbal formulations marketed for liver diseases. The hepatoprotective effect of aqueous-ethanolic extract (50%, v/v) of leaves of kasondi was studied on rat liver damage induced by paracetamol and ethyl alcohol by monitoring serum transaminase (aspartate amino transferase and serum alanine amino transferase), alkaline posphatase, serum cholesterol, serum total lipids and histopathological alter- ations. The extract of leaves of the plant produced significant hepatoprotection. © 1999 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Cassia occidentalis ; Ethyl alcohol; Hepatoprotective; Kasondi; Paracetamol 1. Introduction Cassica occidentalis L. (Caesalpinaceae), com- monly known as ‘Kasondi’, is a common weed found throughout India and is employed in in- digenous and folk medicine for a variety of pur- poses (Kirtikar and Basu, 1933; Chopra et al., 1980; Nadkarni, 1982). In Unani literature, ‘Ka- sondi’ has been reported to be used as antidote of poison, blood purifier, expectorant, anti-inflam- matory agent and a remedy for the treatment of liver diseases (Ghani, 1920; Kabiruddin, 1951). Several polyherbal preparations are available in the Indian market for liver disorders in which C. occidentalis is one of the constituents. The ethano- lic extract of leaves of this plant was recently evaluated for its antihepatotoxic activity using carbontetrachloride and thioacetamide as hepato- toxins, and reported to be active (Saraf et al., 1994). The powder of leaves of C. occidentalis was screened for anti-inflammatory activity using two models, i.e. carrageenan induced edema in the rat * Corresponding author. 0378-8741/99/$ - see front matter © 1999 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. PII:S0378-8741(99)00037-9