Evaluation of hepatoprotective effect of Pistacia lentiscus, Phillyrea latifolia and Nicotiana glauca.

The hepatoprotective effect of the boiled and non-boiled aqueous extracts of Pistacia lentiscus, Phillyrea latifolia, and Nicotiana glauca, that are alleged to be effective in the treatment of jaundice in Jordanian folk medicine, was evaluated in vivo using carbon tetrachloride (CCl(4)) intoxicated rats as an experimental model. Plant extracts were administrated orally at a dose of 4 ml/kg body weight, containing various amounts of solid matter. Only total serum bilirubin level was reduced by treatment with non-boiled aqueous extract of N. glauca leaves, while the boiled and non-boiled aqueous extracts of the N. glauca flowers were non effective. Bilirubin level and the activity of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were both reduced upon treatment with boiled aqueous extract of P. latifolia without reducing the activity of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST). Aqueous extract of P. lentiscus (both boiled and non-boiled) showed marked antihepatotoxic activity against CCl(4) by reducing the activity of the three enzymes and the level of bilirubin. The effect of the non-boiled aqueous extract was more pronounced than that of the boiled extract.