Hepatocellular Injury Ameliorated by a Common African Food, Parkia biglobosa

Background: Parkia biglobosa seed has been reported to possess hepatoperotective potential. Therefore, this study sought to investigate its ability in ameliorating KBrO3-induced hepatotoxicity.

Methodology: P. biglobosa was extracted with soxhlet extractor with 95% ethanol as the solvent. Twenty-four adult male Wistar rats were acclimatized under laboratory conditions and were randomly grouped into A, B, C and D. Group A was given distilled water orally. Animals in groups B, C and D were administered 100 mg/kg body weight of potassium bromate, but groups C and D were also treated with 100 and 200 mg/kg body weight of P. biglobosa respectively. Both potassium bromate and P. biglobosa were freshly prepared on daily basis and administered to rats by oral gavage. After 28 days of treatment, the animals were sacrificed under mild diethyl ether anaesthetization 24 hours after cessation of last treatment. Blood and liver tissue were collected.

Results: The findings demonstrated that, when compared to the control group, KBrO3 caused a significant increase (P˂0.05) in ALT, AST, LDH, ALP, total bilirubin (TB), conjugated bilirubin (CB), and unconjugated bilirubin (UB) levels, but decreased total protein, albumin and globulin in the serum of animals. In the liver cells, KBrO3 reduced hepatic biomarkers. These perturbations were neutralized in the groups treated with 100 and 200 mg/kg body weight, respectively.

Conclusion: The result of the present study revealed that KBrO3 is hepatotoxic at a dose of 100 mg/kg body weight. The result further suggests that P. biglobosa possesses hepatoprotective properties in rats in vivo. This study can be replicated in human trial.