Hepatoprotective and behavioral effects of jigrine in galactosamine-induced hepatopathy in rats.

Abstract

The hepatoprotective activity of jigrine, a polypharmaceutical herbal formulation, at a dose of 1 mL/kg/day p.o. was evaluated against galactosamine (400 mg/kg b.wt.)-induced hepatopathy in rats. Biochemical parameters such as alanine trasaminase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and bilirubin were estimated to assess liver function. Jigrine was also evaluated for its effect on the possible behavioral alterations secondary to liver damage produced by galactosamine (d-Gal) administration in rats. The d-Gal-induced elevation in serum levels of ALT, ALP, and bilirubin was significantly reduced (p values <0.01, <0.01, and <0.05, respectively) in jigrine- and silymarin-pretreated rats. Jigrine pretreatment also exhibited beneficial effects on d-Gal-induced behavioral abnormalities in rats. Silymarin (25 mg/kg/day p.o.) was used as reference standard. The biochemical observations were supplemented with histopathological examination of rat liver sections. Histopathological evaluation showed marked improvement in the livers of jigrine- and silymarin-treated animals.