Pharmacognostic, in vitro antioxidant and hepatoprotective activity of leaves of garden croton, Codiaeum variegatum (Euphorbiaceae)

Background: Commonly referred to as garden croton, Codiaeum variegatum is a tropical decorative plant that is valued for both its therapeutic properties and its colourful foliage. The present study investigates the antioxidant and hepatoprotective properties of garden croton. Methodology: The phytochemical screening was conducted to determine the amount of polyphenols present in the sample. The Total Phenolic and flavonoid content was performed by the Folin and Aluminium chloride method, respectively. Furthermore, the samples were evaluated using various antioxidant methods. Hepatoprotective activities of the crude extract of the plant were carried out based on paracetamol-induced liver damage in mice. Serum biomarkers (AST, ALT, ALP, and hepatotoxicity index) were assessed to determine the effect. Histopathological examination was also performed on all groups of mice to further confirm the findings. Result and Discussion: The different methods revealed that the antioxidant potential increased with higher concentrations of polyphenols in the sample. The IC₅₀ values ranged from 99.28 to 115.22 µg/mL with three different methods. Pre-treatment of the mice with the crude extract of Croton significantly reduced ALP (p < 0.05), ALT (p < 0.05), and AST (p < 0.05) levels at all administered doses compared to the toxic group. Conclusion: Croton leaves may serve as a natural source of novel compounds with hepatoprotective properties. These results suggest that Ornamental plants also contain a higher concentration of bioactive compounds capable of neutralizing free radicals and show hepatoprotective activity at very low doses. However, further research is recommended to isolate and characterize the specific phytoconstituents responsible for the activity and to elucidate their mechanisms of action in greater detail.