The liver is a major parenchymal organ involved in many functional activities in the body.
Hepatic encephalopathy is a syndrome characterized by increased blood
ammonia level and is one of the major complications of
cirrhosis. In the present study the protective effect of
HD-03, a poly-herbal formulation, was evaluated against CCl4-induced
hepatic encephalopathy in rats.
Hepatic encephalopathy was induced in Wistar rats by administration of CCl4 at a dose of 1 mL/kg orally in
liquid paraffin (1:1) twice a week for 90 days. The liver
enzymes (
SGPT and
SGOT) and blood
ammonia levels were significantly (p < 0.001) higher in the CCl4-intoxicated group compared with the untreated control group. Administration of
HD-03 at a dose of 750 mg/kg orally as an aqueous
suspension significantly prevented the elevation of
SGPT,
SGOT and blood
ammonia levels. Histomorphometric evaluation of liver and brain showed a protective effect of the
HD-03 treatment, thus correlating with the changes in biochemical profiles. The protective effect of
HD-03 against CCl4-induced
encephalopathy may be due to the improved hepatocellular function, which in turn helps in regulating the metabolism of
ammonia. However, further studies are required to measure the activity of
enzymes involved in the
urea cycle and brain
aromatic amino acids in order to elucidate the exact mechanism of action of
HD-03.