EVALUATION OF THE HEPATOPROTECTIVE EFFECT OF UVARIA AFZELII AGAINST PARACETAMOL INDUCED LIVER TOXICITY IN WISTAR RATS.

Uvaria afzelii (UV) Sc Elliot (Annonaceae) locally is used in the treatment of kidney disorders, digestive problems, liver disorders, diabetes as well as gonorrhea. This study aims to investigate the possible hepatoprotective activities of the crude aqueous root extract of Uvaria afzelii against Paracetamol-induced hepatotoxicity with Silymarin being used as a reference standard. Twenty five (25) adult wistar rats were randomly assigned into a control group (A) and four treatment groups (B, C, D and E) each containing five rats (n=5/group). Animals in each group were allowed access to 200g/day growers’ mash and water ad libitum. Rats in the treatment groups were administered paracetamol orally at a dose of 800mg/kg body weight daily for fourteen days. Rats in group B were not pretreated while groups C, D and E rats were pretreated daily with 50mg/kg body weight of Silymarin, 250mg/kg and 500mg/kg body weight of crude aqueous extract of UV root respectively. The animals were sacrificed on the 15^th day of the experiment and several serum markers, aspartate amino transferase (AST), alanine amino transferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and total protein (TP) was measured to assess the effect of the extract on paracetamol -induced hepatic damage. The study included histopathological examination of liver sections. Paracetamol induced a significant rise in AST, ALT, ALP and TP. Treatment of rats with the crude UV extract significantly (P<0.05) altered serum marker enzymes levels to near normal against acetaminophen treated rats. The activity of the extract was comparable to the standard drug, silymarin (50 mg/kg.). Histopathological changes of liver tissues were compared with respective control. Results indicate that Uvaria afzelii possesses hepatoprotective effect on paracetamol-induced hepatotoxicity in rats.