Hepatoprotective activities of Astragalus persicus and Astragalus tournefortii ethanolic extracts against paracetamol induced liver damage in rats and their in vitro antioxidant effects

The aim of this study was to investigate the potential hepatoprotective effect of the ethanol extracts of Astragalus persicus (DC.) Fisch. & C.A.Mey (A. persicus) and Astragalus tournefortii Boiss (A. tournefortii) in a rat model of paracetamol (PCM) induced liver damage. PCM administration caused severe hepatic damage in rats as evidenced by elevated serum activities of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), ?-glutamyl transferase (?-GT) and serum level of total bilirubin (BRN), while decreased serum level of total protein (TP) and albumin (ALB). In liver homogenates, PCM elevated malondialdehyde (MDA) but decreased glutathione (GSH) level as well as glutathione peroxidase (GPx), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities. Administration of A. persicus and A. tournefortii extracts (200 and 400 mg/kg) for 7 days before PCM inhibited the acute elevation of the serum activities of AST, ALT, ALP and ?-GT enzymes and serum level of BRN. PCMinduced lipid peroxidation was likewise attenuated by both extracts. Similarly, both extracts increased the activities of the antioxidant enzymes (GPx, SOD, CAT) and reduced GSH concentration in the liver homogenates. The results of the in vitro antioxidant effect revealed considerable antioxidant activity for both extracts. The median effective concentration (EC50) values of A. persicus and A. tournefortii extracts and ascorbic acid for DPPH radical scavenging activities were 6455, 6199 and 75.62 ìg/ml, respectively. It was concluded that A. persicus and A. tournefortii possess hepatoprotective activities that could be partly attributed to their antioxidant effects