Evaluation of the Hepatoprotective Potentials of Jatropha tanjorensis Aqueous Leaf Extract on Carbon Tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced Hepatic Injury in Wistar Rats

Aims: The effect of the aqueous extract of Jatropha tanjorensis leaves on Wistar rats was carried out to ascertain biochemical efficacy in ameliorating carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced damage on histopathology and biochemical parameters such as Glucose, Aspartate transaminase (AST), Alanine transaminase (ALT), Creatinine, and Urea. Study design: A total of twenty (25) rats weighing 100-250g were divided into five (5) groups (five rats per group), comprising of Control (Group 1), CCl4 induced without treatment (Group II), CCl4 induced with treatment of 5% plant extract (Group III), CCl4 induced with treatment of 10% plant extract (Group IV), CCl4 induced with treatment of 15% plant extract (Group V). Acute toxicity test was conducted to determine the extract concentration administered. Place and Duration of Study: The animal house of the Department of Biochemistry, University of Port Harcourt; and Department of Chemical Pathology, University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH), between January and June 2018. Methodology: The CCl4 was induced intravenously for 14 days and this led to deterioration in the animals’ liver, while formulated feed, water, and extract were orally administered for 14 days after one week of acclimatization. This resulted in improvement in the animals’ liver. The animals were subsequently sacrificed after 14 days of extracts administration, and the blood and liver samples were taken for histopathological examination and biochemical analysis respectively. Results: The biochemical results revealed a significant increase (P>0.05) in all the parameters of the Group II rats whose liver damaged and a significant decrease (P<0.05) in all the parameters of the Groups III, IV, and V as they responded positively to the extract treatment. Conclusion: This study reveals that the leaf extract of this plant, Jatropha tanjorensis, is effective in the management of liver disorders caused by CCl4.