Effect of bioactive compound (−)-epicatechin of Phyllanthus Niruri on hepatic stress markers and lipid metabolic profiles in D-galactosamine induced hepatitis in aged rats

The present study was designed to explore the hypolipidemic and hepatoprotective effects of Phyllanthus Niruri (PN) bioactive compound (−)-Epicatechin in D-galactosamine induced hepatitis in rats. Rats were distributed into normal controls (NC), (−)-epicatechin treated (Et), hepatitis control (Hc), hepatitis+ (−)-epicatechin (H+Et), hepatitis+silymarin treated (H+St). After 21 days of treatment, lipid peroxidation (MDA), total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL), very low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL), bilirubin (BL), urea (UR), creatinine (CR) are estimated in serum. In D-galactosamine-induced hepatitis rats, we observed increased levels of MDA, TC, TG, LDL, VLDL, BL, and decreased levels of HDL, UR, CR. However (−)-epicatechin supplementation normalized all the lipid metabolic profiles and also hepatic stress markers. Furthermore, histopathological examinations have also proved that (−)-epicatechin pre-treatment decreased the tissue damage in hepatitis conditions. This is the first reported data on the hypolipidemic activity of (−)-epicatechin. Our experimental findings indicate the potential benefits of(−) epicatechin in hepatitis conditions.