Abstract:
Acmella oleracea L. is an herbal shrub currently cultivated in the Philippines and exhibits many medicinal uses. This study was designed to test the antihepatotoxic potential of the different doses of A. oleracea L. flower extract on acetaminophen (APAP)-induced hepatotoxicity. Five groups of mice received different treatments: Group A: 0.9% saline solution, Group B: Silymarin, Group C: 125 mg/kg A. oleracea L. methanolic extract, Group D: 250 mg/kg A. oleracea L. methanolic extract, and Group E: 500 mg/kg A. oleracea L. methanolic extract. These were administered via oral gavage for 6 days after a single dose of 300 mg/kg b. wt. APAP. The mice were sacrificed and subjected to blood serum enzyme analyses, and liver histopathology was examined. In the results, Group D had the highest relative liver weight (RLW) (6.20%) while Group A had the lowest (4.50%). In the ALT/SGPT results, all groups were above the normal range. AST/SGOT levels of Group B (mean=110.145 U/L), C (mean=83.3022±22.1966 U/L) and D (86.3389±32.1292 U/L) were all normal. However, there were no significant differences between the RLW, ALT/SGPT and AST/SGOT levels among the groups. Histological observations showed that there is significant differences in the scores, with Group C having the lowest score indicating almost normal hepatic histology. With these, it can be therefore concluded that 125 mg/kg dosage of A. oleracea L. flower extract may have antihepatotoxic potential.
