Abstract

Abdul Baatin and Hanifa Amani

The hepatoprotective effects of Solanum nigrum water and methanolic extracts were studied in rats injected with 0.2 ml/kg carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) for 10 consecutive days. S. nigrum water extract (250 to 500 mg/kg) was administered to rats injected with CCl4 for 10 days. The water extracts showed a hepatoprotective effect against CCl4- induced liver damage, which was evident by the decrease in serum aspartate amino transferase (AST), alanine amino transferase (ALT) and alkaline phosphates (ALP) activities bilirubin concentration and by mild histopathological lesions when compared with the group of rats injected with CCl4 alone. The methanolic extracts of S. nigrum (250 to 500 mg/kg) also had hepatoprotective effects with levels of serum AST, ALT, ALP and bilirubin decreasing significantly in animals treated with S. nigrum methanolic extract compared to an untreated group.