Research Article Evaluation of Hepatoprotective Activity of Caralluma europaea Stem Extract against CCl 4 -Induced Hepatic Damage in Wistar Rats Hayat Ouassou , Mohamed Bouhrim, Nour Elhouda Daoudi , Hassane Mekhfi, Abderrahim Ziyyat, Abdelkhaleq Legssyer, Mohamed Aziz, and Mohamed Bnouham Laboratory of Bioresources Biotechnology Ethnopharmacology and Health, Mohammed First University, Oujda, Morocco Correspondence should be addressed to Mohamed Bnouham; mbnouham@yahoo.fr Received 18 July 2020; Revised 16 December 2020; Accepted 23 December 2020; Published 8 January 2021 Academic Editor: Kim Wei Chan Copyright©2021HayatOuassouetal.isisanopenaccessarticledistributedundertheCreativeCommonsAttributionLicense, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. e present study aims to evaluate the hepatoprotective activity of stem aqueous extract of Caralluma europaea (AECe) on carbon tetrachloride- (CCl 4 -) induced hepatic damage in Wistar rats. e animals were daily treated with the aqueous extract of C. europaea at a dose of 250 mg/kg body weight for 14 days. CCl 4 was injected (1ml/kg, i.p.)twotimes,onthe7 th and 14 th days. At the end of the experimental period, all rats were anesthetized to collect blood for the assessment of biochemical parameters and then sacrificed to collect the liver for weighing. Hepatotoxicity was evaluated by measuring the serum levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), bilirubin (total and direct), malondial- dehyde (MDA), total protein (TP), triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol, very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL-c ), low-density lipoprotein (LDL-c), high-density lipoprotein (HDL-c), urea, creatinine, and uric acid. Based on the results obtained in this study, the administration of C. europaea before exposure to the administration of CCl 4 conferred favorable hepatoprotective effect in rats. e treatment with AECe (250 mg/kg) exhibits a significant hepatoprotective effect by ameliorating CCl 4 -induced alterations of these biochemical parameters. Hence, C. europaea could be a potential medicinal herb that can be used in the future to prevent liver intoxication. 1. Introduction eliverisaninterestingorganinthehumanbody.Itplaysa vital role in the maintenance, performance, and regulating the homeostasis of the body [1]. It has a central role in detoxification and excretion of endogenous and exogenous substances [2]. e high incidence of liver damage is caused by drugs, alcohol consumption, and environmental chem- icals/xenobiotics, which lead to liver diseases such as hep- atitis [1, 3]. Most of the hepatotoxic chemicals produce liver cell damage by inducing an increase in tissue lipid perox- idation, oxidative stress, and serum levels of many bio- chemical markers such as transaminases, alkaline phosphatase, bilirubin, triglycerides, and cholesterol [3, 4]. Carbon tetrachloride- (CCl 4 -) induced liver injury is the best-characterized animal model of xenobiotic-induced free- radical-mediated hepatotoxicity. CCl 4 is converted into two free radicals, which are trichloromethyl radical (CCl 3 ) and proxy trichloromethyl radical (OOCCl 3 ) by cytochrome P450 [5]. ese free radicals are capable of initiating lipid perox- idation and liver damage [6]. Several studies indicate that antioxidants protect the liver from oxidative damage, and they can prevent the risk of liver diseases [7]. erefore, much attention has been focused on natural antioxidants. Many studies have been shown that medicinal plants are very rich in antioxidant compounds that exhibited powerful hep- atoprotective activity by improving antioxidant status [8]. Among many medicinal plants, Caralluma europaea (CE) is one of the medicinal species belonging to the Apocynaceae family. It is widely distributed in Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, Spain, and Italy [9]. C. europaea has been traditionally used in the treatment of different diseases such as diabetes, cancer, cyst, kidney stones, and respiratory and cardiovascular dis- orders [10–13]. e juicy stems of Caralluma europaea are consumed as food [10, 14]. Besides, the stems of C. europaea are orally taken with water or milk to treat diabetes. Also, the Hindawi Advances in Pharmacological and Pharmaceutical Sciences Volume 2021, Article ID 8883040, 8 pages https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/8883040