Antioxidant and hepatoprotective properties of dried fig against oxidative stress and hepatotoxicity in rats

The aim of this study was to investigate the hepatoprotective effect and antioxidant role of dried fig (DF) (Ficus carica L.) against ethanol-induced oxidative stress. Experiment was designed as normal Control, 20% ethanol, 10% DF and 10% DF + 20% ethanol groups. The hepatoprotective and antioxidant role of the dried DF supplementation feed against ethanol induced oxidatif stress were evaluated by liver histopathological changes, measuring liver damage serum enzymes (LDSE), antioxidant defense system (ADS) and malondialdehyde (MDA) content in various tissues of rats following the exposure of experimental for 50 days. The biochemical analysis showed a considerable increase the LDSE in the ethanol group as compared to that of control group whereas, decreased in 10% DF + 20% ethanol group as compared to that of ethanol group. In addition, the DF supplementation diet restored the ethanol-induced MDA and ADS towards to control. The hepatoprotection of DF is further substantiated by the almost normal histologic findings of liver in 10% DF + 20% ethanol group against degenerative changes in ethanol group. The results indicated that the DF could be as important as diet-derived antioxidants and antihepatotoxicity in preventing oxidative damage in the tissues by inhibiting the production of ethanol-induced free radicals and hepatotoxicity in rats.