Department of Pharmacy, Colleges of Medicine and Health Sciences, Adigrat University, Adigrat, Ethiopia; Department of Pharmacognosy, School of Pharmacy, College of Health Sciences, Mekelle University, Mekelle, Ethiopia.
School of Pharmacy, College of Medicicne and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2019 Oct 5;242:112031. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2019.112031. Epub 2019 Jun 17.
Cucumis ficifolius A. Rich is a perennial prostrate herb that stems up to 1 m long. Its root is widely used in traditional medicine to treat various diseases including liver diseases. Yet, scientific evidence is lacking to verify its ethno medicinal claims.
The present study was conducted to assess the hepatoprotective and radical scavenging activity of 80% methanol crude extract and different fractions of Cucumis ficifolius root.
Radical scavenging activity was done applying the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay while hepatoprotective activity was assessed using pre- and post-treatment models of carbon tetrachloride (CCl)-induced liver injury in Swiss albino mice of either sex weighing 25-30 g. A single oral dose of 2000 mg/kg was used for acute toxicity study, doses of 125, 250, and 500 mg/kg were used in the pre-treatment model, and 500 mg/kg of extract and chloroform fraction were used in the post-treatment model. Biochemical markers and histopathological parameters were used to measure hepatoprotective activities.
C. ficifolius crude extract and its solvent fractions showed strong radical scavenging activity and the chloroform fraction had the highest activity. No sign of toxicity was shown in an acute toxicity test of the extract. Hepatoprotective activity evaluation on the crude extract by a pre-treatment model with 125, 250, and 500 mg/kg doses revealed a significant (p < 0.05) reduction of the serum level of CCl-induced liver enzyme markers at the highest tested dose (500 mg/kg). The chloroform fraction that had highest radical scavenging activity and the crude extract, both at 500 mg/kg, were again evaluated in a post-treatment model and the results revealed that both the extract and the chloroform fraction demonstrated significant (p < 0.05) hepatoprotective activities which support the results of the pre-treatment model.
The present study verified the hepatoprotective potentials of C. ficifolius extract and its chloroform fraction which might be, at least in part, through radical scavenging action.
佛手瓜是一种多年生匍匐草本植物，茎长可达 1 米。其根在传统医学中被广泛用于治疗各种疾病，包括肝病。然而，目前缺乏科学证据来验证其民族医学的说法。
本研究旨在评估佛手瓜根 80%甲醇粗提取物及不同部位的肝保护和自由基清除活性。
采用 2,2-二苯基-1-苦基肼（DPPH）法测定自由基清除活性，采用雄性和雌性 25-30g 瑞士白化小鼠四氯化碳（CCl）诱导肝损伤的预处理和后处理模型评估肝保护活性。急性毒性研究采用 2000mg/kg 单次口服剂量，预处理模型采用 125、250 和 500mg/kg 剂量，后处理模型采用 500mg/kg 提取物和氯仿部位。采用生化标志物和组织病理学参数来衡量肝保护活性。
佛手瓜粗提取物及其溶剂部位显示出较强的自由基清除活性，氯仿部位活性最高。提取物急性毒性试验未显示毒性迹象。用 125、250 和 500mg/kg 剂量的预处理模型对粗提取物进行肝保护活性评价，发现最高测试剂量（500mg/kg）时，CCl 诱导的肝酶标志物血清水平显著降低（p<0.05）。氯仿部位具有最高的自由基清除活性，粗提取物在 500mg/kg 时再次进行后处理模型评估，结果表明，提取物和氯仿部位均表现出显著的肝保护活性（p<0.05），这支持了预处理模型的结果。
本研究验证了佛手瓜提取物及其氯仿部位的肝保护潜力，这可能至少部分是通过自由基清除作用实现的。
