Hepatoprotective effects of koutoukou Garcinia kola seeds extract on the liver of the wistar rats in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire

Garcinia kola is a plant commonly found in West and Central Africa. It has biochemical and physiological properties such as antibacterial, anti-hepatotoxic, hypoglycemic and antioxidant. It is increasingly used in association with other plants and/or certain alcoholic beverages such as koutoukou. Koutoukou is a spirit drink, classified in Groups 4 and 5 of mouthwash because of its high toxicity reported. This study was carried out to assess the safety of koutoukou made from Garcinia kola in the liver of Wistar rats. The alcoholic strength showed that the average alcoholic degree of koutoukou varied from 42.33°±4.04 to 62°±3.00. Phytochemical screening revealed the presence of flavonoids, saponosides, polyphenols, polyterpenes, sterols, Catechin tannins in koutoukou samples. Twenty-five Wistar rats divided in 5 groups of 5 rats each was used for 28 days experiment. Bodyweight gain and blood collection for bioassays were performed. Animals were sacrificed after 28 days, and livers were removed for histopathology tests. The weight of animals which received only koutoukou decreased significantly from D21 (160 ± 16) to D28 (120 ±17g). The values of ASAT, ALAT transaminases and Gamma-GT increased significantly during the same period in untreated rats indicating cytolysis. In rats treated with koutoukou and koutoukou from Garcinia koutoukou extract, these values decreased significantly indicating a cytoprotective effect of this extract. In the other groups, transaminases and Gamma-GT did not vary significantly during the experiment suggesting an absence of cytolysis. This study revealed that Koutoukou from Garcinia kola has a hepatoprotective effect on the liver.