Antioxidant and hepatoprotective activity of ethanolic and aqueous extracts of Amorphophallus campanulatus Roxb. tubers.

In the present study, the hepatoprotective activity of ethanolic and aqueous extracts of Amorphophallus campanulatus (Roxb.) tubers were evaluated against carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) induced hepatic damage in rats. The extracts at a dose of 500 mg/kg were administered orally once daily. The substantially elevated serum enzymatic levels were significantly restored towards normalization by the extracts. Silymarin was used as a standard reference and exhibited significant hepatoprotective activity against carbon tetrachloride induced haptotoxicity in rats. The biochemical observations were supplemented with histopathological examination of rat liver sections. The results of this study strongly indicate that Amorphophallus campanulatus (Roxb.) tubers have potent hepatoprotective action against carbon tetrachloride induced hepatic damage in rats. The ethanolic extract was found hepatoprotective more potent than the aqueous extract. The antioxidant activity was also screened and found positive for both ethanolic and aqueous extracts. This study suggests that possible mechanism of this activity may be due to free radical scavenging potential caused by the presence of flavonoids in the extracts.