Exploring the hepatoprotective and cytotoxic activities of Thalictrum foliolosum and Cordia dichotoma for targeting acute liver injury

• Thalictrum foliolosum and Cordia dichotoma were effective against liver damage. • Both plant Methanolic extracts showed antibacterial and anti-inflammatory activities. • C. dichotoma extract demonstrated a particularly strong hepatoprotective effect. Liver diseases remain a significant global health burden despite advancements in hepatology. Plant-based therapies offer promising hepatoprotective potential, highlighting the need to evaluate medicinal plants with therapeutic activity. Therefore, the present study aims to evaluate the methanolic extracts of the root and leaves of Thalictrum foliolosum and the leaves of Cordia dichotoma for antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, cytotoxic, and hepatoprotective effects. Antimicrobial analysis revealed that T. foliolosum leaves extract showed maximum inhibition against E. coli (19.0 ± 1.0 mm) and the root extract against S. typhi (22.0 ± 1.0 mm), while C. dichotoma leaves extract against Bacillus sp . (17.3 ± 1.5 mm). Anti-inflammatory analysis showed that at 300 µg/mL, C. dichotoma leaves exhibited 48.10 ± 0.34 % inhibition, while T. foliolosum root and leaves extracts showed 46.35 ± 0.90 % and 44.77 ± 1.49 % inhibition, respectively. Furthermore, both extracts exhibited dose-dependent cytotoxicity toward HepG2 cells, with T. foliolosum root and C. dichotoma leaf extracts showing CTC 50 values of 110.7 and 250.7 µg/mL, respectively. In-vivo studies showed that both the extracts significantly restored liver biomarkers in CCl 4 -induced hepatotoxicity in Wistar albino rats. T. foliolosum roots extract (200 mg/kg) reduced total bilirubin to 0.33 ± 0.06 mg%, conjugated bilirubin to 0.05 ± 0.02 mg%, serum glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (SGOT) to 120.50 ± 12.02 IU/L, serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase (SGPT) to 52.00 ± 16.97 IU/L, and alkaline phosphate (ALP) to 205.50 ± 27.58 IU/L, while restoring total protein (5.70 ± 0.14 g%) and albumin (3.30 ± 0.14 g%). Similarly, C. dichotoma leaves extract (200 mg/kg) lowered total bilirubin to 0.34 ± 0.03 mg%, conjugated bilirubin to 0.06 ± 0.03 mg%, SGOT to 122.00 ± 2.83 IU/L, SGPT to 44.50 ± 3.54 IU/L, and ALP to 185.00 ± 29.70 IU/L, with improved total protein (5.60 ± 0.57 g%) and albumin (3.30 ± 0.14 g%). Molecular docking further supported the bioactivity of the extracts. Senecionine showed good affinity for the antibacterial target 4KR4 (−7.6 kcal/mol), while rutin exhibited the strongest binding to the anti-inflammatory (5IKR, −8.5 kcal/mol) and hepatoprotective (3SU4, −7.7 kcal/mol) targets. Overall, these findings revealed that C. dichotoma leaf extract exhibits stronger hepatoprotective activity than T. foliolosum root extract, supporting its further investigation in future studies.