Launaea procumbens methanol extract (LPME) was evaluated against carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced pancreatic oxidative damage and hyperglycemia in rats. Various doses of the extract were administered to rats after 48 h of CCl4 treatment (3 ml/kg bodyweight (bw); intraperitoneally, 20% CCl4/olive oil) twice a week for 4 weeks. Coadministration of various concentrations of LPME (100, 150 and 200 mg/kg) ameliorated the toxicity of CCl4 and reversed the serum level of enzymes (amylase and lipase), glucose and hormone (insulin). The extract was able to reduce thiobarbituric acid reactive substance but increased the glutathione contents in pancreatic tissue. Depletion of antioxidant enzyme activities (catalase, peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione-S-transferase and glutathione-S-reductase) and DNA damages induced with CCl4 were restored by LPME supplement. It is suggested that LPME effectively protects the liver against the CCl4-induced oxidative damage in rats, possibly through antioxidant and/or free radical scavenging effects of flavonoids and phenolic compounds in the extract.
Keywords: Carbon tetrachloride; DNA damages; Launaea procumbens; insulin.
© The Author(s) 2013.