Exposure to high doses of acetaminophen is the most common cause of drug induced liver injury. We investigated the protective effects of Hedera helix extract against acetaminophen induced oxidative stress and hepatotoxicity using a mouse model. We used two control groups: group A was given 0.9% NaCl, group B was an acetaminophen control that was given a single injection of 600 mg/kg acetaminophen. T1-T4 groups were pretreated orally with different doses of H. helix extract. The mice were sacrificed and blood samples were collected to estimate the levels of glutathione peroxidase (GPx), malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and total bilirubin. Liver samples also were used for histopathological studies. We found that acetaminophen significantly increased the levels of serum ALP, ALT, AST and MDA, and also significantly reduced the antioxidant factors, CAT, GPX and SOD. H. helix extract treatment produced a significant reduction in the levels of ALP, ALT, AST and MDA in serum and restored the levels of CAT, GPX and SOD to control levels. The histopathological findings were consistent with the biochemical findings. H. helix extract exhibited antioxidant and hepatoprotective effects against acetaminophen induced liver damage.
Keywords: Acetaminophen; antioxidants; liver; mouse.