Hepatoprotective potential of astragalus kurdicus and astragalus cinereus extracts against paracetamol induced liver damage in rats

The objective of this study was to investigate the potential hepatoprotective effect of the ethanol extracts of Astragalus kurdicus Boiss. var. kurdicus (A. kurdicus) and Astragalus cinereus Willd. (A. cinereus) in a rat model of paracetamol (PCM) induced liver damage. Paracetamol administration caused severe hepatic damage in rats as evidenced by elevated serum activities of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), γ-glutamyl transferase (γ-GT) and serum level of total bilirubin (BRN) while decreased serum levels of total protein (TP) and albumin (ALB). In liver homogenates, PCM elevated malondialdehyde (MDA) but decreased glutathione (GSH) levels as well as glutathione peroxidase (GPx), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities. Administration of A. kurdicus and A. cinereus extracts (200 and 400 mg kg^-1) for 7 days before PCM inhibited the elevation of the serum activities of ALT, AST, ALP and γ-GT enzymes and serum level of BRN. Moreover, they elevated the serum level of TP. Paracetamol-induced lipid peroxidation was also reduced by both extracts. Likewise, both extracts increased the activities of the antioxidant enzymes (GPx, SOD, CAT) in the liver homogenates and reduced GSH concentration. The results of the in vitro antioxidant effect revealed marked antioxidant activity for both extracts. The histopathological analysis suggested that both extracts obviously alleviated the degree of liver damage due to PCM administration. The present study suggests that A. kurdicus and A. cinereus possess hepatoprotective activities that could be partly attributed to their antioxidant effects.