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Hepatoprotective Effects of Red Beet Roots and Silymarin on Liver Toxicity Induced by Carbon Tetrachloride (CCl4) in Rats

The present work aims to investigate the potential protective effect of beet root juice and silymarin in liver toxicity and liver fibrosis induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) in rats. Sixty (60) male rats of Sprague Dawley strain each weighting (145±5g) were randomly divided into 6 groups (n=10). After 8 weeks blood was collected to obtain serum to estimate enzymes (ALT, AST, GGT and ALP activity) and collagen IV levels. Liver tissue was removed for measuring hydroxyproline contents and histological examination using Haematoxylin, Eosin and Sirius red stains for fibrosis. The ALT, AST, GGT and ALP activity showed a highly significant increase (<0.001) in CCl4 group. On the other hand, treatment with beet root juice and silymarin significantly (<0.05) decreased than that of CCl4 group. Collagen IV levels and the hydroxyproline contents were significantly increased (<0.001) in CCl4 group, while after treatment with silymarin, beet root juice or a combination of them there was a slightly decrease in collagen IV levels and the hydroxyproline contents than that of CCl4 group. The histopathology of hepatic tissues at 8 weeks in CCl4 injected rats showed disturbed liver architecture with cloudy swelling of hepatocytes, fatty changes (degeneration) and portal fibrosis. While rats treated with beet root juice or silymarin showed slightly disturbed liver architecture. Further, examination for liver fibrosis using Sirius red stain in liver sections showed diffuse subsegmentations of the portal lobules in CCl4 intoxicated rats, while rats injected with CCl4 and treated with beet root juice and silymarin showed very minimal portal fibrosis.