Evaluation Of In Vitro Antioxidant Activity and In Vivo Hepatoprotective Activity Of Moringa Oleifera Seeds Extract Against Ethanol Induced Liver Damage In Wistar Rats

Abstract

The in vitro antioxidant and in vivo hepatoprotective effects of crude ethanolic extracts of Moringa oleifera (M. oleifera) seeds were evaluated in male Wistar rats against ethanol induced liver damage in preventive and curative models. The antioxidant activity of M. oleifera was assayed by DPPH, hydroxyl and superoxide radical scavenging activity. The various antioxidant activities were compared to standard antioxidant, ascorbic acid. In two different set of experiments, the M. oleifera extracts (50,100 and 300 mg/kg body weight (bw), and silymarin (100 mg/kg bw) were administered orally in both the studies. Liver injury was induced by 40% ethanol administration (3.76 gm/kg bw, orally) for 25 days. In the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazil(DPPH), hydroxyl and superoxide radical scavenging activity, the IC 50 values of ethanolic extract were 196.45 ± 0.25, 175.57 ± 0.39 and 213.15 ± 0.27 µg/ml respectively. The level of serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and total bilirubin were determined to assay hepatotoxicity. Ethanol administration caused severe hepatic damage in rats as evidenced by elevated serum AST, ALT, ALP and total bilirubin levels. The M. oleifera and silymarin administration prevented the toxic effect of ethanol on the above serum parameters in both preventive and curative models. The present study concludes that ethanolic extract of M. oleifera seeds has significant antioxidant and hepatoprotective activity against ethanol induced hepatotoxicity, which may be associated with its high bioactive compounds including glucosinolates, isothiocyanates, thiocarbamates, and flavonoids and antioxidant properties.