In vitro hepatoprotective activity of Corchorus depressus L. against CCl4 induced toxicity in HepG2 cell line

Aim: To evaluate in vitro hepatoprotective activity of ethanolic extract from Corchorus depressus (CDEE) against CCl4 induced toxicity in HepG2 cell line. Methods: In vitro cytotoxicity and hepatoprotective potential of CDEE were evaluated using HepG2 cells. Based on the cytotoxicity assay, CDEE (50, 100, 200 mg/ml) was assessed for hepatoprotective potential against CCl4 induced toxicity by monitoring cell viability, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransaminase (ALT), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) leakage, lipid peroxidation (LPO) and glutathione level (GSH). Results: The results indicated that CCl4 treatment caused a significant decrease in cell viability. In addition, the toxin treatment initiated lipid peroxidation (LPO), caused leakage of enzymes like transaminase (AST & ALT) and LDH with a significant decrease in GSH levels in HepG2 cells. It was observed that CDEE effectively alleviated the changes induced by CCl4 in a concentration-dependent manner. Conclusion: Our study revealed that CDEE has potent cytoprotective effect against CCl4 induced toxicity in HepG2 cell line and which may be attributed to decrease in CCl4 induced reactive oxygen species levels and resultant oxidative stress. Copyright 2013, Phcog.Net, Published by Reed Elsevier India Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved.