Browsing by Author "Sarfo-Antwi, Frederick"

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    Extracts of Ageratum Conyzoides L. Protects against Carbon Tetrachloride – Induced Toxicity in Rats through Inhibiting Oxidative Stress
    (Journal of Advances in Medical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2019-01) Sarfo-Antwi, Frederick; Larbie, Christopher; Babatunde, Duduyemi
    Aims: The present study was aimed at investigating the hepatoprotective and nephroprotective activities of 50% hydroethanolic leave extracts of the Ageratum conyzoides and fractions on carbon tetrachloride - induced hepatotoxicity in rats. Study Design: A total of 30 Sprague Dawley rats were used in this study with six groups of five animals each. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, College of Science, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, between April 2016 and July 2017. Methodology: Extracts were characterised by basic phytochemical screening, FTIR, GC-MS, DPPH and Folin-Ciocalteau assays. Hepatoprotective activities were assessed using the CCl4 model (1 ml/kg) and extracts tested at 250 mg/kg bwt and Silymarin as standard drug (100 mg/kg bwt). Serum liver and kidney function, as well as antioxidant enzymes (SOD, CAT, GSH, MDA and MPO) in liver and kidney homogenate were assayed. Histological examinations were made on the livers and kidneys. Results: Results showed the extract treatments resulted in significant increase in SOD, CAT and GSH levels and a significant decrease in MDA and MPO level against CCl4 both in liver and kidney as well as the restoration of kidney and liver function to near normal levels. Biochemical data was corroborated by histological observations. Conclusion: The present investigation suggests that A. conyzoides crude extract possesses remarkable hepato- and nephroprotective properties and this can be attributed to the inhibitory effect on oxidative stress.
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    Hepatoprotective Effects of Ageratum Conyzoides Crude Extracts and Fractions on Carbon Tetrachloride–Induced Hepatotoxicity
    ( JULY, 2017) Sarfo-Antwi, Frederick
    Liver diseases are still a major public health burden in many countries and despite the research strides made in respect of therapeutic interventions, challenges still abound in its treatment. Chemotherapy, the standard treatment method, is fraught with various shortcomings like drug resistance and undesirable side effects. Consequently, natural products present promising alternatives to liver disease treatment and hence finding new hepatoprotective agents from natural sources will be critical in improving patient outcomes. Ageratum conyzoides, an annual herb is increasingly being used in folklore for the treatment of a wide range of diseases including liver damage caused by free radicals. The study was aimed at investigating the hepatoprotective and in-vivo antioxidant enzyme activity of A. conyzoides crude extracts and its fractions, as well as evaluating the phytochemical constituents of 50% hydroethanolic extracts and fractions of A. conyzoides. Free radical scavenging activity of the extracts was investigated (Table 4.1). Hepatoprotective activity of Ageratum conyzoides plant extracts was studied by measuring the level of liver enzymes (Figure 4.11), as well as, in-vivo antioxidant enzyme activity after treatment with CCl4 (Figure 4.18-20). The presence of tannins, flavonoids, alkaloids, terpenoids and saponins were qualitatively screened for in the hydroethanolic crude extract and its isolated fractions (Table 4.3). The results showed that the crude extracts scavenged DPPH free radical in a concentrated dependent manner compared to the positive control, ascorbic acid. Phenolic compounds were detected in the crude extracts (Table 4.1). The 50% hydroethanolic crude extract recorded the strongest scavenger of DPPH, with 50% effective concentration (EC50) of 0.14±0.01 mg/ml. It also had the highest total phenol content, (0.39± 0.14 mg/g) with ethyl acetate fraction having the weakest antioxidant potential (0.29 ± 0.06 mg/ml) when compared to the standard (Table 4.2). Thus excluded from hepatoprotective study. In the hepatotoxicity study, crude extract iv treatment resulted in significant increase (p<0.001) in SOD, CAT and GSH levels (Figure 4.18-20) and a significant decrease (p<0.005) in MDA and MPO level against CCl4 both in liver and kidney (Figure 4.21-22), hence suggesting it to have the strongest hepatoprotective potential when compared to aqueous and methanol fractions. Also, histological findings (Figure 4.16-17) also indicated the absence of fibrosis and necrosis in both the kidney and liver of rat treated with the crude extracted after CCl4 (1 ml/kg b.wt) intoxication, whereas other treatment groups showed mild inflammation and cellular structure distortion of organs. The present investigation suggests that Ageratum conyzoides crude extract possesses remarkable hepatoprotective and nephroprotective properties and the compounds such as phenols, flavonoid and alkaloid detected could be responsible for these properties.