Citrullus lanatus Extract Reverses Oxidative and Haematological Dysfunction in Carbon Tetrachloride Induced Liver Damaged Rats

The study was carried out to evaluate the oxidative and haematologic effects of extract of Citrullus lanatus in carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) induced liver damaged rats. Thirty male albino rats were divided into five groups of six animals per group. The normal group was administered with distilled water for seven days. CCl4 treated group was given vehicle on the first four days and with the vehicle and hepatotoxin on the fifth, sixth and seventh day. The animals in the treatment category were respectively administered with 500, 1,000 and 1,500 mg kg(-1) b.wt. of extract for the first four days and with extract and CCl4 on the last three days. There was significantly reduced (p<0.05) levels of catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), Glucose 6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase (G6PD), Packed Cell Volume (PCV) and haemoglobin (Hb) concentration in CCl4 treated rats but were however, normalized by the extract. Furthermore, the activities of Glutathione S-transferase (GST) and malondialdehyde (MDA) in plasma were significantly increased (p<0.05) in CCl4 treated group when compared with normal control rats, these were stabilized by the groups treated with the plant extract. Our findings suggest that C. lanatus exhibited reversal effects on these selected oxidative stress and haematologic markers in rats which were previously damaged by CCl4.