Anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effect of Lotus corniculatus on paracetamol-induced hepatitis in rats.

Herbal medicines have been used in the treatment of liver diseases for a long time. The current study was elaborated to evaluate in vitro and in vivo antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effect of Lotus corniculatus (L. corniculatus) butanolic extract.The in vitro antioxidant and anti-inflammatory property of L. corniculatus was investigated by employing DPPH radical scavenging, H2O2 scavenging and BSA denaturation assays. In in vivo antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of L. corniculatus were evaluated against paracetamol (APAP)-induced hepatitis in rats. The L.corniculatus at dose of 100 and 200 mg/kg were administered orally once daily for seven days. Serum transaminases (AST and ALT) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), total bilirubin levels, liver malondialdehyde (MDA), reduced glutathione (GSH), glutathione S- transferase (GST) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels and inflammatory markers, such as serum C-reactive protein (CRP), circulating and liver myeloperoxidase (MPO) levels were investigated. Further histopathological analysis of the liver sections was performed to support the effectiveness of L. corniculatus.L. corniculatus exhibited strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory ability in vitro. In the in vivo study, our findings demonstrate that L. corniculatus (100 and 200 mg/kg) administration led to an amelioration of APAP effects on liver histology, liver functions parameters (AST, ALT, LDH, and total bilirubin levels) and liver oxidative stress markers (MDA, GSH, GST and SOD levels). Furthermore, serum CRP, MPO levels, and liver MPO activity were declined by both doses of L. corniculatus extract. The best benefits were seen with 200 mg/kg of L. corniculatus extract.Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effect of L. corniculatus extract may be due to the presence of active components.