Hepatoprotective effect of ethanolic extract of Phyllanthus amarus Schum. et Thonn. on aflatoxin B1-induced liver damage in mice

Phyllanthus amarus Schum. et Thonn. (Bhuia amla; Euphorbiacae) is a herb common to central and southern India. It is an ayurvedic herb and has a wide range of traditional uses in different diseases. The aim of this work was to evaluate the hepatoprotective effect of ethanolic extract of Phyllanthus amarus (Phyllanthus amarus) on aflatoxin B1-induced liver damage in mice using different biochemical parameters and histopathological studies. Aflatoxin was administered orally (66.6 μg kg−1 BW 0.2 ml−1 day−1) to the mice of each group except control to which normal saline and ascorbic acid (0.1 g kg−1 BW 0.2 ml−1 day−1) were given, respectively. Ethanolic extract of Phyllanthus amarus (0.3 g kg−1 BW 0.2 ml−1 day−1) was given to all groups except control groups (gp. I and gp. V) after 30 min of aflatoxin administration. The entire study was carried out for 3 months and animals were sacrificed after an interval of 30 days till the completion of study. Phyllanthus amarus extract was found to show hepatoprotective effect by lowering down the content of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and enhancing the reduced glutathione level and the activities of antioxidant enzymes, glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione-S-transferase (GST), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT). Histopathological analyses of liver samples also confirmed the hepatoprotective value and antioxidant activity of the ethanolic extract of the herb, which was comparable to the standard antioxidant, ascorbic acid. The overall data indicated that Phyllanthus amarus possesses a potent protective effect against aflatoxin B1-induced hepatic damage, and the main mechanism involved in the protection could be associated with its strong capability to reduce the intracellular level of reactive oxygen species by enhancing the level of both enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants.