Antioxidant and Hepatoprotective Activity of Fruit Extracts of Tetrapleura tetraptera (Schum Thonn) Taubert

The antioxidant and hepatoprotective activity of Tetrapleura tetraptera extracts in carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced liver injury in rats was investigated. T. tetraptera extracts showed varying levels of protective action against CCl4-induced liver damage as evidenced through the significant reduction in the activities of serum marker enzymes for liver damage (alanine transaminase, aspartate transaminase, and alkaline phosphatase), and bilirubin levels when compared with CCl4- intoxicated control rats. The extracts decreased the elevation in the activities of the enzymes in the liver. They also protected against CCl4 induced lipid peroxidation. The extracts reduced CCl4-liver induced necrosis in dose dependent manner. These results indicated that fruit extracts of T. tetraptera possess a hepatoprotective property against CCl4-induced liver damage which was mediated through its antioxidative defenses.