Effects of Aqueous Extract of Petroselinum crispum on Liver and Hematological Parameters in Carbon Tetrachloride (CCl4) - Induced Hepatotoxicity in Male Wistar Rats

In recent years, focus on plant research has increased to show the potential of some medicinal plants in discovery of novel compounds which could be used in treatment of some diseases. Petroselinum crispum is widely used traditionally as a food additive and herbal remedy for many ailments. This study is aimed to assess the effects of Petroselinum crispum on some liver enzymes and some haematological parameters in Carbon tetrachloride (CCL4) - induced hepatotoxicity in male wistar rats. A total of 25 wistar rats were used, which were divided into 5 groups of 5 rats each. Group 1: (control); Group 2: received IP injection of 120mg/kg mixture of CCL4 and olive oil (1:1), Groups 3, 4 and 5 were orally administered 250, 500 and 1000mg/kg extract + IP injection of 120mg/kg mixture of CCL4 and olive oil for 21 days respectively. On the 22nd day, the animals were sacrifice using chloroform anesthesia and the effects of the aqueous extract were assessed by quantifying liver enzymes such as serum aspartate amino transferase (AST), alanine amino transferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and total serum protein (TP). The haematological parameters were assessed by analysis of parked cell volume (PCV), red blood cell count (RBC), white blood cells (WBC), haemoglobin (Hb) concentrations and platelet count (PLT) and followed by histopathological studies of the liver tissues. The three doses of the plant extract used in this study, showed some level of protective effect on CCL4-induced hepatotoxicity as evident by the significant reduction (P < 0.05) in serum levels of AST, ALT, and ALP along with the improved histopathological liver sections compared to CCL4 -treated animals. However the extract is more effective in the 500mg/kg compared to the 250mg/kg and 1000mg/kg. Also the results obtained for all the haematological parameters used in the study showed no significant difference among all the groups (P > 0.05).