Original Research Article

Hepatoprotective and Antioxidant Activities of Fruit pulp of Limonia acidissima Linn

Ilango K^1* and Chitra V²

¹Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, SRM College of Pharmacy, SRM University, Kattankulathur, Kanchipuram District – 603203, Tamilnadu, India.

² Department of Pharmacology, SRM College of Pharmacy, SRM University, Kattankulathur, Kanchipuram District-603203. Tamilnadu, India.

 ^*For Correspondence:  Tel: +91-44-27453160 Fax: 91-44 - 27455717  Email: ilangok67@gmail.com

Methods: 200 and 400 mg/kg p.o doses of MELA was administered to group of animals for 10 days. Silymarin (100mg/kg) served as a standard and carbon tetrachloride at a dose of 0.5 ml/kg i.p was used to induce liver damage. The various hepatic biochemical parameters like aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), total protein (TP), total bilirubin (TB), gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT) and in vivo antioxidant biochemical parameters like super oxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and glutathione (GSH) levels were evaluated to determine the hepatoprotective and antioxidant activity.

Results: Significant dose dependant hepatoprotective effect of both doses of MELA was observed (p<0.001). The fruit extract significantly restored the antioxidant enzyme level in the liver cells.

Conclusion: MELA exhibited significant dose dependant protective effect against CCl₄ induced liver damage which can be mainly attributed to the antioxidant property of the extract. This study rationalized the ethno-medicinal use of the plant for curing hepatic injuries.

Keywords: Limonia acidissima, hepatoprotective, carbon tetrachloride, antioxidant enzymes, Silymarin.