EFFECT OF POMEGRANATE FRUIT EXTRACT (PFE) ON THIOACET AMIDE-INDUCED LIVER FIBROSIS IN RATS
Hadeer M. Abouelezz1, George S.G. Shehatou1, Abdelhadi M. Shebl2 and Hatem A. Salem1
1Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt. 2Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt
Liver fibrosis is a chronic progressive disease which ultimately can result in cirrhosis and possible death. Although the high incidence and lethality, few therapies are effective for liver fibrosis. Pomegranate fruit extract (PFE) has exhibited a significant hepatoprotective and anti-fibrotic properties. However, the underlying mechanism of the anti-hepatic fibrotic property remains unknown. This work was conducted to test the ability of PFE to prevent thioacetamide (THIO)-induced liver fibrosis in vivo. 32 male Sprague Dawley rats were randomly allocated into four groups (n=8 each) which were named as control; received distilled water; PFE, received PFE (150 mg/kg/day, orally); THIO, received THIO (200 mg/kg, i.p, 3 times weekly); and [THIO + PFE], received both THIO and PFE for six weeks. The results showed that PFE administration succeeded to significantly (P<0.05) reduce liver/body weight ratio by 12.4% but has no significant effect on hepatic Bax level. Conclusion: PFE may have a useful effect as hepatoprotective agent. Consequently, it can be used for the management of liver fibrosis and further experimental studies are recommended to elucidate the exact mode of action involved in this activity.
June 2019