INVESTIGATION OF THE PHYTOCHEMICAL COMPOSITION AND HEPATOPROTECTIVE EFFECT OF LEUCANTHEMOPSIS TRIFURCATUM GROWING IN LIBYA

Abstract

Leucanthemopsis trifurcatum is common to Mediterranean countries and widely used in traditional medicine especially for north African countries. Due to the scarcity of researches about the pharmacological activities of L. trifurcatum, we intended to screen the L. trifurcatum ethanolic extract (LEE) for hepatoprotective effects against paracetamol induced chronic toxicity. LEE is subjected to preliminary phytochemical and pharmacological screening.
Hepatotoxicity is induced in rats by chronic oral administration of paracetamol (PCM) for 30 days. LEE ( 300 and
500 mg/kg), and silymarin (25 mg/kg) were administered orally, for 30 days, along with PCM to explore their hepatoprotective activities. Phytochemically, LEE revealed the presence of alkaloids, carbohydrates, and flavonoids as
well as nine separated spots on TLC paper using toluene : ethyl acetate: formic acid (5:4:1) solvent system. The
treatment with LEE (300 and 500 mg/kg, p.o.) caused hepatoprotective activity in a dose dependent manner through
significant reduction of liver enzymes (AST, ALT, and ALP) compared to paracetamol toxicity. 500 mg/kg of LEE
exerted a profound hepatoprotective action comparable to silymarine. This activity may be attributed to the synergistic action between the phytochemical constituents of LEE.