Journal of Life Sciences Research

Daily exposure to a number of xenobiotics is the major contributing factor to liver injury. The present study investigated the mechanism of hepatoprotection by glycyrrhizin, curcumin and cinnamon in two distinct models of hepatotoxicity i.e., by using Concanavalin-A (ConA) and Acetaminophen (APAP). For this evaluation, balb/c mice were pretreated with glycyrrhizin (200 mg/kg i.g.), curcumin (100 mg/kg i.g.) and cinnamon (200 mg/kg i.g.) extracts for 14 days followed by administration of ConA (15 mg/kg i.v.) and APAP (200 mg/kg i.p.) for 8 hours. At the end of the experiment, mice were dissected and blood and liver samples were collected for biochemical and histopathological analysis. Statistical analysis by using one-way ANOVA followed by DMR test was performed for the significance of results. The results showed that pre-treatment of glycyrrhizin, curcumin and cinnamon ameliorated the damaging effects of ConA and APAP on the liver as indicated by the serum transaminase enzymes and total protein levels. In addition, ConA and APAP exerted severe damage on liver tissues as confirmed from the histopathological analysis. However, glycyrrhizin, curcumin and cinnamon prevented liver injury, possibly through antioxidant mechanism. In conclusion, glycyrrhizin, curcumin and cinnamon possessed antioxidant properties with therapeutic potential in liver injury related to oxidative stress.