Hepatoprotective and antioxidant activities of Tetracera loureiri.

Tetracera loureiri is one of the most valued herbs in Thai traditional medicine. In this study, we describe its in vitro and in vivo antioxidant and hepatoprotective activities. The ethanol extract of T. loureiri possessed potent antioxidant and strong free radical scavenging properties assayed using ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), respectively. The cytoprotective effects of T. loureiri were demonstrated in ethanolic extracts of freshly isolated rat hepatocytes against the chemical toxicants paracetamol and tertiary-butylhydroperoxide. The cells pretreated with the extract maintained the GSH/GSSG ratio and suppressed lipid peroxidation in a dose dependent manner. Pretreating rats with the ethanol extract orally, one hour prior to intraperitoneal injection of toxic doses of paracetamol, significantly prevented elevations of plasma ALT and AST. These results suggest that T. loureiri may be of potential therapeutic value in some liver disorders.