Protective role of Albizzia lebbeck and Syzygium cumini extract in hepatic injuries: Can natural plant be an alternative?

Free radical injury can cause a wide spectrum of tissue damage. An experimental study was performed to see the beneficial effect of secondary plant extract with organo-protective effect. Experimented animals (rats) were exposed to oxidative injury with Streptozotocin (STZ) and d-Galactosamine hydrochloride (GAL), for the generation of free radicals. The administration of these toxic agents like STZ or GAL induced various patho-physiological changes in the liver and generated disease condition due to free radical damage and oxidative stress. The experiment was followed with co-administration of aqueous, methanolic and methanolic fraction of aqueous extract of Albizzia lebbeck and Syzygium cumini. These secondary plant extracts significantly increased antioxidant enzymes and reduced the elevated serum levels of malondialdehyde in the experimental animals. The established hepato-protective actions of various extracts of Albizzia lebbeck and Syzygium cumini in experimental hepatic injury in rats widens the scope for further investigations in the field of research, either alone or in conjunction with other herbal molecules with proven hepato-protective action. Future efforts should be taken to establish such isolated compounds as potential drug in clinical practice.