Ex vivo and in vivo investigations of picroliv from Picrorhiza kurroa in an alcohol intoxication model in rats

• Published in: Journal of ethnopharmacology Vol. 66; no. 3; pp. 263 - 269
• Main Authors: Saraswat, Binduja, Visen, P.K.S, Patnaik, G.K, Dhawan, B.N
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Shannon Elsevier Ireland Ltd 01-09-1999; Elsevier
• Subjects: Alanine Transaminase - metabolism; Alcohol; alcohol abuse; Alcoholism and acute alcohol poisoning; Aldehyde Dehydrogenase - metabolism; Aldehyde Oxidoreductases - metabolism; Alkaline Phosphatase - metabolism; Animals; Antiprotozoal Agents - pharmacology; Aspartate Aminotransferases - metabolism; Bile - drug effects; Bile Acids and Salts - metabolism; Biological and medical sciences; Cells, Cultured; Cholestasis - chemically induced; Cinnamates - therapeutic use; Ethanol - toxicity; General pharmacology; Glycosides - therapeutic use; hepato protection; Hepatoprotective; Hepatotoxicity; liver; Liver - chemistry; Liver - drug effects; Liver - enzymology; Male; Medical sciences; Oxygen - metabolism; Pharmacognosy. Homeopathy. Health food; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Picroliv; Rats; Toxicology; Vanillic Acid - therapeutic use; Asia; India; Alcohol; Hepatoprotective; Picroliv; Hepatotoxicity; Ethanol; Rat; Hepatoprotector; Pharmacognosy; Toxicity; Liver; Rodentia; Oral administration; In vitro; Medicinal plant; Prevention; In vivo; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Hepatocyte; Folk medicine; Dicotyledones; Animal; Angiospermae; Plant origin; Scrophulariaceae; Spermatophyta; Poisoning; Phytotherapy
• ISSN: 0378-8741; 1872-7573
• DOI: 10.1016/S0378-8741(99)00007-0

Picroliv, the active constituent isolated from the plant
Picrorhiza kurroa, was evaluated as a hepatoprotective agent against ethanol-induced hepatic injury in rats. Alcohol feeding (3.75 g/kg×45 days) produced 20–114% alteration in selected serum (AST, ALT and ALP) and liver markers (lipid, glycogen and protein). Further, it reduced the viability (44–48%) of isolated hepatocytes (ex vivo) as assessed by Trypan blue exclusion and rate of oxygen uptake. Its effect was also seen on specific alcohol-metabolizing enzymes (aldehyde dehydrogenase, 41%; acetaldehyde dehydrogenase, 52%) in rat hepatocytes. The levels of these enzymes were found to be reduced in the cells following alcohol intoxication. Ethyl alcohol also produced cholestasis (41–53%), as indicated by reduction in bile volume, bile salts and bile acids. Picroliv treatment (3–12 mg/kg p.o.×45 days) restored the altered parameters in a dose-dependent manner (36–100%).