DOI: 10.36347/sajb.2018.v06i03.006

Pages: 269-272

Prunus persica a well-known plant commonly called as ‘Peach Fruit’, belonging to the family Rosaceae. The Ethanolic bark extract of Prunus persica (EBPP) was investigated for hepatoprotective and antioxidant activity against paracetamol induced liver damage in rats. Male Wistar albino rats intoxicated with paracetamol showed liver damage and oxidative stress as indicated by increased serum levels of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, total bilurubin and lipid peroxidase. Simultaneously, there were decreased activities of total protein, superoxide dismutase, and catalase and glutathione capacity compared with the control group. Combined oral administration of silymarin and EBPP (200mg/kg) with paracetamol reversed the elevated levels of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, total bilurubin, lipid peroxidase and restored the decreased levels of total protein, superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione. The effect produced by the EBPP was comparable with that of silymarin. From the result it was concluded that, the ethanolic bark extract of Prunus persica exhibited hepatoprotective and the probable mechanism of action may be due to its antioxidant property.