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Antioxidant and antihepatotoxic activities of Phellinus rimosus (Berk) Pilat

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Abstract

The antioxidant and antihepatotoxic activities of a wood inhabiting macrofungus, Phellinus rimosus were studied. The superoxide anion scavenging, Fe2+–ascorbate induced lipid peroxidation inhibiting, hydroxyl radical scavenging and nitric oxide scavenging activities of the ethyl acetate extract were determined. The results indicated that ethyl acetate extract of P. rimosus exhibited significant in vitro antioxidant activity. The ethyl acetate extract of P. rimosus also showed potent antihepatotoxic activity against carbontetrachloride-induced acute toxicity in rat liver. The amelioration of liver toxicity by the ethyl acetate extract was evident from its significant effect on the levels of serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase (SGPT), serum glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (SGOT) and serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP). The results suggest that hepatoprotective effect of P. rimosus is possibly related to the free radical scavenging activity.

Introduction

The practice of using macrofungi especially mushrooms to treat a variety of diseases is found in many countries. They are traditionally used in China and Japan for medicinal purposes (Jong and Birmingham, 1992). Phellinus rimosus is a wood inhabiting macrofungus. The basidiocarps of this fungus have been used by some local tribes in Kerala, India for the treatment of mumps (Ganesh, 1988).

The reactive oxygen species (ROS) such as superoxide anion radical (O2̄), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and hydroxyl radical (OH) have been implicated in the pathophysiology of various clinical disorders, including ischemia, reperfusion injury, atherosclerosis, acute hypertension, haemorrhagic shock, diabetes mellitus and cancer (Hemnani and Parihar, 1998). They play an important role in the inflammation process after intoxication by ethanol, carbontetrachloride or carrageenan (Yoshikawa et al., 1983, Halliwell and Gutteridge, 1984, Yuda et al., 1991). These radicals and the reactive species derived from them react with cell membrane, induce lipid peroxidation and are responsible for various deleterious effects in cells and tissues where they are generated (Sies, 1985). The inhibition of free radical generation can serve as facile model for evaluating the activity of hepatoprotective agents.

In this communication, we report the in vitro antioxidant activity and antihepatotoxic activity of the ethyl acetate extract of P. rimosus. The antioxidant activity was assayed by standard methods. The antihepatotoxic activity was determined by CCl4 induced acute hepatotoxicity in rats. The extent of liver damage was assessed by biochemical studies and by histopathological examinations.

Section snippets

Preparation of plant extract

Sporocarps of P. rimosus growing on jackfruit trees in the out skirts of Trichur, Kerala were collected. The specimens were identified with the help of available literature and the identification was confirmed by Professor K.M. Leelavathi, Department of Botany, Calicut University, Calicut, India. The type specimen was deposited in the Department of Botany Herbarium, University of Madras, India (HERB. MUBL. 3171).

The fruit bodies were cut into small pieces, dried at 40–50 °C for 48 h and

Superoxide radical scavenging activity

Ethyl acetate extract of P. rimosus was found to be a scavenger of superoxide generated by photoreduction of riboflavin (Table 1). The extract showed significant superoxide inhibiting activity. The extract inhibited 50% superoxide anion generated at a concentration of 22±1 μg/ml (IC50).

Inhibition of lipid peroxidation

Ethyl acetate extract of P. rimosus was effective in inhibiting the lipid peroxidation induced by Fe2+–ascorbate system in rat liver homogenate (Table 1). The generation of malondialdehyde (MDA) and related

Discussion

Active oxygen species and free radicals are involved in a variety of pathological events. In addition to ROS, nitric oxide is also implicated in inflammation, cancer and other pathological conditions (Sreejayan and Rao, 1997). A potential mechanism of oxidative damage is the nitration of tyrosine residues of proteins, peroxidation of lipids, degradation of DNA and oligonucleosomal fragments (Hemnani and Parihar, 1998). Nitric oxide or reactive nitrogen species, formed during its reaction with

Acknowledgements

Authors are grateful to Professor K.M. Leelavathy, Department of Botony, Calicut University, Calicut for the identification of the fungus. The financial support of Science, Technology and Environment Department, Government of Kerala, is also gratefully acknowledged.

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