Effect of Leaf Extract of Caricapapaya (Pawpaw Leaf) on Liver ALT and AST Levels in Acetaminophen induced Toxicity in Wistar Rats

Abstract

One area of interest in recent research has been the hepatoprotective properties of Carica papaya leafs, particularly against drug-induced liver toxicity. Liver damage remains a significant public health concern, with acetaminophen (paracetamol) toxicity being one of the leading causes of acute liver failure globally. The aim of this study is to determined the effect of leaf extract of caricapapayo (pawpaw leaf) on liver ALT and AST levels in acetaminophen induced toxicity in wistar rats. Fifteen(15)Wista rats consist of both male and female and weighing between 74-114.93kg were used for this studys per group were used for this study. Group I served as the control group, group II served as the positive control group consisting of rats was induced with acetaminophen 2g/kg of body weight only, group III rats were induced with 2g/kg of acetaminophen and treated with 100mg/kg body weight of the methanolic extract, group IV rats were induced with 2g/kg of acetaminophen and treated with 200mg/kg of body weight of the methanolic extract, group V rats were induce with 2g/kg of acetaminophen and treated with 400mg/kg of body weight of the methanolic extract. Each of the rats in group 3, 4 and 5, received 0.1ml, 0.2ml and 0.4ml respectively of the extract daily through the oral route of administration for 14 days. Rats in the control group received clean water only. Blood sample were collected using the orbital sinus method of blood collection, which enables for large amount of blood to be collected at an adequate quantity and on time to avoid blood clotting. For hematological investigations, the blood drawn from every rat in a group was placed in a heparinized vial. Additionally, a portion of the blood was drawn into a different, sterile, nonheparinized container and left to clot in order to perform ALT and AST enzyme assays. The differences among experimental and control groups were determined using SPSS for Window XPSoftware Programme (version13.0). Group comparisons were done using the analysis of variance (ANOVA)test. Significant differences between control and experimental group were assessed by least significant difference (LSD) and student’st-test. All data were expressed as mean±SEM; p-values less than 0.05 were considered to be significant. The AST level in the liver of Group II acetaminophen-treated rats was significantly lower (P=0.05) than that of the control and other groups (III-V) in this investigation. Whereas, there was a significant increase in ALT level in group II (positive control) when compare with all other groups. However, there was no significant changes between group IV and V.