Hepatoprotective and Nephroprotective Effects of Methanolic Extract of Different Parts of Tamarindus Indica Linn in Rats Following Acute and Chronic Carbon Tetrachloride Intoxication

Aims: To investigate the hepatoprotective and nephroprotective potential of the methanolic extracts of the leaves, stem bark, seeds, fruit pulp, fruit bark and roots of Tamarindus indica Linn in acute and chronic rat model of organ injuries.
Study Design: The acute-injury model involved intraperitoneal pre-treatment with 10 mg/kg body weight of the extract for two days followed by intoxication with carbon tetrachloride at 0.6ml/kg, while the chronic injury model involved repeated intoxication with carbon tetrachloride (0.3ml/kg) at every 72 hourly intervals together with a concomitant 24 hourly administration of the extracts (5mg/kg) for twelve days, following initial CCl4 intoxication at 0.6ml/kg.
Place and Duration of Study: Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria. January 2011-June 2011.
Methodology: In both acute and chronic experimental model, the rats were sacrificed at the end of the each experiment. Bilirubin, aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) were determined from serum as indices of hepatic injuries while urea and creatinine were determined as markers of kidney damage.
Results: Extract treatment caused a significant (p<0.05) decrease in the activities of ALT from 61.04±2.77U/I in CCl4 control group to between 15.82±2.63 and 50.67±3.44U/I while AST activities were similarly lowered from 100.57±3.27U/I to between 25.10±1.48U/I and 53.45±3.19 U/I. There was alsosignificant (p<0.05) decrease in the levels of bilirubin, urea and creatinine when compared to the CCl4 control. In general, extracts from the fruit pulp, the stem bark and fruit bark demonstrated better hepatoprotective and nephroprotective potential than those of the seed, root and leaves.
Conclusions: Various parts of Tamarindus indica possess hepatoprotective and nephroprotective properties to justify their usage in traditional medicine in Nigeria and some other developing countries.