Hepatotoxic Activity of Essential Oil from Nutmeg (Myristica Fragrans) Against Tetrachloride-Induced Hepatic Damage In Mice

Abstract

To extracting and purifying the essential oil containing terpenes from dried seeds of nutmeg Myristica fragrans available in Iraqi markets. Male albino mice (n= 44), with average weight (25-28 g) of about six weeks old The study also employed an in vivo evaluation of the hepatotoxic effect of essential oil in male albino mice at different concentrations (500 and 1000 mg / kg) given orally for 7 days including biochemical functions serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase (SGPT),serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT) and serum alkaline phosphatase (SALP) as parameters of liver function tests and serum total bilirubin (TSB). At day 8 the animal was sacrificed and the liver is weighed and kept in 10% formalin for preparation of histopathological sections. The serum was isolated from the blood for the biochemical tests. Statistical results showed the absence of any significant changes on body weight and liver weight of nutmeg treated mice. However nutmeg treated mice showed statistically significant alteration in the biochemical indicators of liver function including significant elevation in SAST, SALT, SALP and TSB in a dose dependent manner. The nutmeg essential oil carries a marked specific potential toxicity to the liver parenchyma, this is very important to be considered for further experimental and clinical studies.