Effect of Petroleum Ether Fraction of Teucrium polium Extract on Laboratory Mouse Liver

Teucrium polium (TP) is amongst the commonly used remedies in traditional medicine. Some reports have claimed hepatotoxicity of TP but other reports have not supported it. This study was designed to evaluate the probable hepatotoxicity of TP.

Petroleum ether fraction of TP was dissolved in DMSO and the final concentration was adjusted by diluting in physiologic saline. TP was administered intra peritonealy one time a week for 3 weeks at doses of 50, 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg. Five mg/kg Paclitaxel was used in positive control group and 0.5% DMSO was administered in negative control group. The weight gain was assessed every other week. By the end of the treatment period, the animals were deeply anesthetized and blood samples were obtained from the left ventricle for biochemical analyses. Liver function tests as well as triglyceride, cholesterol and glucose was assessed later. The left lobe of the liver was removed, fixed and stained for histopathologic evaluations.

Weight gain was significantly lower in animals that received 400mg/Kg TP compared with negative controls. No significant histopathologic changes were detected among the various experimental groups. Also, no significant differences were detected considering inflammatory cells in liver. ALT, AST, glucose, cholesterol and triglyceride was comparable among the groups but gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) and ALP differed significantly between control and some treated animals.

It can be concluded that high doses of TP affect weight gain and also some liver parameters but do not affect the histologic structure of the liver.