Abstract

The objective of present study was to investigate the hepatic activity of methanolic extract of various morphological parts (bract, flower, trachea and tracheal fluid) of Musa paradisiaca L. for their effect on liver of experimental mice. The methanolic extract of morphological parts of Musa paradisiaca (bract, flower, trachea and tracheal fluid) at the dose of (100, 250 and 500 mg/kg b.w) and silymarin (25 mg/kg) was orally administered once daily for 28 days and toxicity evaluation studies were carried out. Liver damage was assessed by biochemical parameters such as total bilirubin, direct bilirubin, indirect bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), serum protein, serum albumin, serum globulin and A/G ratio and by histopathology of carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄) induced hepatic injury in mice. Results of the experiment showed that there is significant (P< 0.05) diversity between the groups that were treated with CCl₄, silymarin and different doses of different morphological parts of plant as compared to control group. Histopathological studies also supported the biochemical parameters. Different morphological parts of M. paradisiaca such as bracts, flower, trachea and tracheal fluid have potential to cause the hepatotoxicity that depends on the dose and the time duration in experimental mice.

Key words: Musa paradisiaca L., hepatic activity, histopathology, biochemical parameters.