Hepatoprotective effect of hydro-alcoholic extract of Oliveria decumbens against hepatotoxicity induced by cadmium chloride in adult male rat

Cadmium is a toxic metal with wide usage in industry. It exerts toxic effects on various organs, including liver. In this study, the hepato-protective effect of hydro alcoholic extract of Oliveria decumbens on AST, ALT, ALP Enzymes following toxicity induced by cadmium chloride was investigated in male rat. In this experimental study, 48 adult male Wistar rats were divided into 6 groups of 8. These groups were as follow: the control, left untreated; the sham, just received distilled water; the experimental group 1, treated with 2mg/kg cadmium chloride; the experimental group 2 received 500 mg/kg oliveria extract, and experimental groups 3 and 4 initially received 2mg/kg cadmium chloride followed by 250 and 500 mg/kg extract respectively for 21 days. At the end of experiment, blood samples were taken, and were prepared for measuring serum levels of hepatic enzymes. In comparison with control and sham groups, serum levels of ALT, AST, ALP enzymes increased significantly in the experimental group 1. There were no significant changes in the enzyme levels in the experimental group 2. There were no significant changes in the levels of ALT, AST, ALP enzymes in the experimental group 3 compared to control and sham groups. A significant decrease was observed in the levels of ALT, AST, ALP enzymes in the experimental group 4 in comparison with experimental group 1 (P<0.05). The results showed that O.decumbens extract could possess protective effect against hepatotoxicity induced by heavy metals, such as cadmium and could improve the liver function.