COMPARISON OF HEPATOPROTECTIVE ACTIVITY OF NISHA LAUHA (NL) AND NISHA LAUHA WITHOUT LAUHA BHASMA (NLWL) AGAINST CCL4 INDUCED HEPATOTOXICITY IN WISTAR RATS

Introduction: Many herbal drugs are used to treat liver diseases, but the dose of the herbal drug is high, and they have lesser palatability. An ideal medicine is a medicine that is effective, easy palatable and produces quick action in a low dose. It is possible by adding metals like Lauha (Iron) to the herbal drugs. Objective: To compare the hepatoprotective effect of Nisha Lauha (NL) and Nisha Lauha without Lauha Bhasma (NLWL) in experimental rats. Materials and methods: 40 rats were taken divided into five groups, and each group contained eight rats. Among these groups, four groups receive 0.2 ml of injection containing the 0.1 ml CCL4 plus 0.1 ml liquid paraffin given intraperitoneally for 28 days to induce Hepatotoxicity. Both Test groups received NL and NLWL at a dose of 45mg/kg bd. wt. and 450mg/kg bd. wt. respectively for 28 days. The standard group receives silymarin at a 100 mg/kg bd dose. wt. for 28 days by oral route. The hepatoprotective effect was analyzed using biochemical parameters and histopathological study of the liver. Results: Both the Test and standard groups do not show toxic effects against CCL4 induced hepatotoxicity and lower the dose of the herbal drug due to the addition of Lauha. Conclusion: The result suggests that both test group NL and NL without Lauha Bhasma shows the hepatoprotective activity as equivalent to standard drug silymarin. The addition of Lauha Bhasma to herbal drugs decreases the dose without affecting the drug’s efficacy against the hepatoprotective effect.