Abstract

In an attempt to confront the growing problem of liver diseases in Egypt and worldwide, some plants belonging to the tribe Cynareae were evaluated for their hepatoprotective activities. The aerial parts of Carduus getulus, Centaurea alexandrina, Centaurea calcitrapa, Cynara cornigera and Onopordum alexandrinum, the leaves of Cynara scolymus and the seeds of C. cornigera and O. alexandrinum were selected for the present study. The ethanol extract of the stated parts of the six plants were subjected to hepatoprotective assays using Wistar albino rats at doses of 500 and 250 mg/kg, depending on the case. The liver injury was induced in rats using carbon tetrachloride. The biochemical parameters such as aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and total bilirubin were estimated as reflections of the liver condition. The histopathological studies where carried out with silymarin as reference hepatoprotective drug. Best results were obtained after treatment of animals with C. cornigera and O. alexandrinum.

Key words: Hepatoprotection, Cynareae, Carduus, Centaurea, Cynara, Onopordum, albino rats.