Protective effect of potato peel extract against carbon tetrachloride-induced liver injury in rats

Our earlier studies have shown that extracts derived from potato peel (PPE) are rich in polyphenols and possess strong antioxidant activity both in vitro and in vivo. The objective of the present study was to investigate its potential to offer protection against acute liver injury in rats. Rats pretreated with PPE (oral, 100 mg/kg b.w./day for 7 days) were administered a single oral dose carbon tetrachloride (CCl4, 3 ml/kg b.w., 1:1 in groundnut oil) and sacrificed 8 h of post-treatment. Hepatic damage was assessed by employing biochemical parameters (transaminase enzyme levels in plasma and liver [AST—aspartate transaminase; ALT—alanine transaminase, LDH—lactate dehydrogenase]). Further, markers of hepatic oxidative damage were measured in terms of malondialdehyde (MDA), enzymic antioxidants (CAT, SOT, GST, GPX) and GSH (reduced glutathione) levels. In addition, the CCl4-induced pathological changes in liver were evaluated by histopathological studies. Our results demonstrated that pretreatment of rats with PPE significantly prevented the increased activities of AST and ALT in serum, prevented the elevation of hepatic MDA formation as well as protected the liver from GSH depletion. PPE pretreatment also restored CCl4-induced altered antioxidant enzyme activities to control levels. The protective effect of PPE was further evident through the decreased histological alterations in liver. Our findings provide evidences to demonstrate that PPE pretreatment significantly offsets CCl4-induced liver injury in rats, which may be attributable to its strong antioxidant propensity.