Hepatoprotective and Antioxidant Properties of Rhizophora mucronata Mangrove Plant in CCl4 Intoxicated Rats

PurposeTo identify the hepatoprotective effect of bark, collar, hypocotyl and stilt root extracts of Rhizophora mucronata mangrove plant.MethodsRats were divided into four groups of six animals. Group 1 was the control; Group 2 was treated with the CCl4 hepatotoxin Group 3 was treated with silymarin (positive control) group; and Group 4 was the treatment group. The phytochemcial components of the extracts were analyzed. Moreover, in vitro antioxidant properties such as, DPPH, HR, NO, FRAP, LPO and SOD were measured for the stilt root extract, which was the most potent.ResultsOf the selected extracts, stilt root showed better hepatoprotective activity. The hepatoprotective activity of the R. mucronata stilt root extract was dose-dependent (75–300 mg/kg body weight) showed that the level of SGOT, SGPT, ALP, bilurubin, cholesterol, sugar and lactate dehydrogenase were significantly (p < 0.05) reduced by all the doses when compared with the levels in the hepatotoxin group rats. The maximum reduction of SGOT (191.36 ± 24.32 IU/L), SGPT (81.54 ± 5.73 IU/L), ALP (228.63 ± 18.56 IU/L), bilurubin (2.52 ± 0.83 mg/dL), cholesterol (129.87 ± 6.42 mg/dL), sugar (121.63 ± 7.38 mg/dL) and lactate dehydrogenase (1601.00 ± 305.65 IU/L) and no histopathological alteration other than mild fatty changes was observed with the high dose (300 mg/kg) of stilt root extract. Phytochemcial analysis of the extracts showed the presence of various chemical constituents, including flavonoids, alkaloids, coumarins and polyphenols. Further, the IC50 values were 58.33 ± 2.87 μg/mL, 64.78 ± 1.32 μg/mL, 72.14 ± 0.94 μg/mL, 25.79 ± 0.93 μg/mL, 163.38 ± 0.81 μg/mL and 22.80 ± 0.93 μg/mL for the DPPH, HR, NO, FRAP, LPO and SOD radical scavenging activity, respectively.ConclusionWe conclude that the R. mucronata stilt root extract could be used as an alternative herbal medicine for the treatment of liver damage following the successful completion of clinical trials.