International
Journal of Basic, Applied and Innovative Research IJBAIR, 2014, 3(1): 8 - 13
www.arpjournals.com; www.antrescentpub.com
RESEARCH PAPER;
THE EFFECT OF AQUEOUS
EXTRACT OF CYPERUS ESCULENTUS ON SOME
LIVER FUNCTIONAL
INDICES IN RABBIT
*1Ebojele F.O. and 1Ezenwanne
E.B.
Department of
Physiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medical sciences,
University of Benin, Benin city, Nigeria.
*Corresponding
author: fredojele78@yahoo.com
Received: 16th December,
2013 Accepted: 24th February, 2014 Published: 31th March, 2014
ABSTRACT
Twenty-five (25)
adult female rabbits were employed to study the possible effects of aqueous
extract of Cyperus esculentus on some liver functional indices. The
rabbits were divided into five groups (A, B, C, D and E) of five animals each
with group A serving as control. The experimental groups (B, C, D and E)
received daily oral doses of 12.5mg, 25mg, 50mg and 100mg per kg of body weight
of the extract respectively for a period of four weeks. Weekly estimate of
serum alanine aminotransferase(ALT), aspartate aminotransferase(AST) and
alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were carried out. Statistical analysis was done
using ANOVA and the results were expressed as Mean SEM, with p-values of less
than 0.05 considered statistically significant. The results revealed
significant increase in serum ALT, AST, and ALP concentrations in group E at
the end of the experiment. It was concluded that the observed increase in serum
levels of these enzymes indicate that Cyperus esculentus may have some
clearly definable hepatotoxic properties, probably, if taken in large
quantities and for a prolonged period.
Keywords: Cyperus
esculentus, Liver, Rabbit, Aqueous extract, Enzymes.
______________________________________________________________________
INTRODUCTION
Cyperus esculentus, also known as ‘Tiger
nut’ in local parlance, is a plant of the family Cyperaceae. The plant produces
rhizomes from the base and tubers that are somewhat spherical (Cortes et al.,
2005), and is also known by various names like yellow nutsedge, Chufa (a
Spanish name), Earth Almond, Rush nut, Flatsedge, Water grass, Zulu nut, Nut
grass, and edible rush (Shilenko et al., 1979; Eteshola and Oraedu,
1996). The nut of this plant is known by various local languages in Nigeria as ‘Aya’
in Hausa, ‘Imumu’ in Yoruba, and ‘Ofio’ or ‘Aki Hausa’ in Ibo (Omode et al.,
1995). The nuts can be eaten raw, roasted, dried, baked or made into a
refreshing beverage called ‘kunnu’ in Hausa language (Oladele and Aina, 2007).
Cyperus esculentus is valued for the
highly nutritional starch content, dietary fibre and digestible carbohydrate of
monosaccharides, disaccharides and polysaccharides (Temple et al., 1990).
The nut was also reported to be rich in sucrose, protein, minerals and fat,
which are resistant to peroxidation (Rita, 2009). It was also reported that Cyperus
esculentus can be taken by diabetics mainly for its sucrose and starch, and
for its high content of arginine which is reported to stimulate the production
of insulin (Belewu and Belewu, 2007). The plant was shown to be nutritious, and
possesses anti-sickling activity and may therefore be helpful in the management
of sickle cell patients (Monago and Uwakwe, 2009). One other study showed that Cyperus
esculentus content of arginine (an antisickling amino acid) is very high (Nwaoguikpe
and Nwazue, 2010). This fact is potentially of immense benefit as an anti-sickling
agent in inhibiting sickle cell hemoglobin polymerization, improvement of the
oxidant status of sickle erythrocytes
and improvement of
the oxygen affinity. Thus, Cyperus esculentus is probably of profound
nutritional value as it possesses antisickling properties for the effective
treatment and management of anemia, kwashiokor, thalassemia, sickle cell disease and their
complications (Nwaoguikpe and Nwazue, 2010). These and several other reports
led some group of workers to understudy the phytochemical composition of Cyperus
esculentus tuber, following which it was determined that it contains
Alkaloids, Cyanogenic glycosides, Resins, Tannins, Sterols, and Saponins (Ekeanyanwu
et al., 2010).
There was a study of the possible
effect of Cyperus esculentus on heart diseases and related conditions.
In their report, the nuts were found to be ideal for children, the elderly, and
sportsmen and women as a result of its cholesterol lowering properties
(Martinez, 2003). There is a report that the consumption of the oil from Cyperus
esculentus tuber decreases the risk of cardiovascular diseases because of
the low content of saturated fatty acid (Burn et al., 2004). It was also
reported to help in preventing thrombosis, and the tuber was also implicated in
the reduction of colon cancer (Adejuyitan et al., 2009). There is
paucity of information from literature on the effect of Cyperus esculentus on
liver function. It was therefore the aim of the present study to determine the
effect of aqueous extract of Cyperus esculentus on some liver functional
indices in rabbit.
Anthonio Research
Center © 2014 8 Ebojele and Ezenwanne, IJBAIR; 3 (1): 8-13
ASN-PH-020919
ISSN: 2315-5388
