American Journal of Plant Sciences, 2012, 3, 1022-1027 doi:10.4236/ajps.2012.327121 Published Online July 2012 (http://www.SciRP.org/journal/ajps) Hepatoprotection: A Hallmark of Citrullus colocynthis L. against Paracetamol Induced Hepatotoxicity in Swiss Albino Rats Arshed Iqbal Dar * , Ramesh Chandra Saxena, Suresh Kumar Bansal Pest Control & Ayurvedic Drug Research Lab. S.S.L Jain P.G College, Vidisha, India. Email: * drarshediqbal@gmail.com Received May 10 th , 2012; revised June 11 th , 2012; accepted June 21 st , 2012 ABSTRACT Objective: To demonstrate the in-vivo hepatoprotective effect of the ethanolic extracts of Citrullus colocynthis (Linn.) against paracetamol induced hepatotoxicity in albino rats. Animal Model: Swiss Albino rats of either sex were used, divided into six groups with six in each group. Group 1-Normal control: The animals were maintained under normal control, which were given distilled water only. Group 2-Induction of hepatotoxicity: The animals received paracetamol 500 mg/kg b.w. (p.o) every 72 h for 10 Days. Groups 3 to 5: Animals received ethanolic extract of Citrullus colocynthis L. at 50, 100 & 200 mg/kg bw/day for 7 days (p.o). Group 6: The animals were treated with Silymarin (100 mg/kg p.o) which served as standard. Groups 3 to 6 were intoxicated with paracetamol (500 mg/kg bw) 1 h before the administra- tion of extract or Silymarin for 10 days. Histopathological findings, different hepatic biochemical parameters viz. AST, ALT, ALP, Total bilirubin, Total cholesterol, Triglycerides, & the body weight before & after treatment were evaluated to investigate the hepatoprotective activity. Results: Paracetamol induced a significant rise in AST, ALT, ALP, Total Bilirubin, Total Cholesterol, Triglycerides. Administration of 200 mg/kg bw of ethanolic extract of Citrullus colocyn- this L. effectively reduced these pathological damages caused by paracetamol intoxication. In addition to serum pa- rameters treatment of 200 mg/kg bw of ethanolic extract of Citrulus colocynthis L. also promotes the body weight in albino rats as shown in Figure 1. Histopathological changes of the liver samples were compared with the normal con- trol as shown in Figures 2-5 respectively. Conclusion: From our results we may infer that the mode of action of 90% ethanolic extract of Citrullus colocynthis L. (200 mg/kg bw) in affording the in-vivo hepatoprotective activity against paracetamol may be due to the cell membrane stabilization, hepatic cell regeneration & normalizing the serum parame- ters. Keywords: Citrullus colocynthis L.; Hepatoprotective; Paracetamol; Silymarin 1. Introduction Liver is a major organ system involved in the metabolism of various drugs, xenobiotics & toxins. During the me- tabolism, excessive free radicals are generated & may cause liver damage. In spite of tremendous strides in modern medicine, there are hardly any drugs that stimu- late liver function, offer protection to the liver from damage or help regeneration of hepatic cell [1]. There are, however, a number of drugs employed in traditional sys- tem of medicine for liver afflictions [2]. Therefore drugs from natural source are being adopted to treat hepatitis/ liver diseases. It has great capacity to detoxicate toxic substances & synthesize useful principles. Therefore, damage to the liver inflicted by hepatotoxic agents is of grave consequences [3]. Citrullus colocynthis L. (Family Cucurbitaceae) commonly known as bitter apple, just because of its bitter principle is a tropical plant that grows widely in the Persian, Arabian & Sahara desert & was introduced by Arabs first, in Spain & Cyprus in the middle Ages [4,5]. Refining & washing with citric acid removes its bitter taste [6]. It is annual or perennial (in wild), herbaceous, flowers monoecious, fruit pepo & seed numerous. Its fruit, which is lemon sized, yellowish, green mottled, spongy, & extremely bitter, is a powerful hepatic stimulant & hydragogue cathartic. It is used as a strong laxative. The dried pulp of Citrullus colocynthis L. has been used for constipation, edema, bacterial infec- tions, cancer & diabetes [7]. From the traditional knowl- edge it is very clear that the fruits of Citrullus colocyn- this L. have the hepatoprotective activity. But still no scientific & methodical investigations have so far been reported in the literature regarding its in-vivo hepatopro- * Corresponding author. Copyright © 2012 SciRes. AJPS