CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

The liver is the largest and most complex internal organ in the body. It plays

an important role in the maintenance of internal environment through its multiple

and diverse functions. Liver is involved in several vital functions such as

metabolism secretion and storage. Hepatitis or inflammatory disorder involves

inflammation and change to the hepatocytes. Hepatitis is one of the most prevalent

diseases in the world. Every year 18000 people had been reported to die due to liver

cirrhosis caused by viral hepatitis (Wang et al. 2008). Ectopic fat storage occurs in

obesity particularly in the liver leading to a condition termed non alcoholic fatty

liver disease (NAFLD) characterized by varying degree of liver injury that

progresses from steatosis to tratohepatitis fibrosis and necrosis. Due to its

prominent association with insulin resistance/obesity NAFLD is regarded as the

hepatic manifestation of metabolic syndrome. Liver has great capacity to detoxicate

toxic substance and synthesizes useful principles. Therefore damage to liver

inflicted by hepatotoxic agents is of grave consequences. Experimental studies have

reported that animal fed a high fat diet (HFD) for more than two months develop

weight hyperlipidemic hyperglycemia oxidative stress and insulin resistance (IR).

Besides consumption of a calorie-rich diet results in lipid accumulation excess

production of inflammatory cytokines and macrophage infiltration that favours the

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progression of liver disease. Many medicinal plant/indigenous plant have been

mentioned and well established as hepatoprotective agents.

Desmodium velutinum is a medicinal plant around the world. The extract of

Desmodium velutinum showed significant anti-pyretic activity on experimental rats

used. Desmodium velutinum is very rich in alkaloids and related amino compounds.

It is a source of flavonoid saponins and pharmacological active agent useful in the

treatment of aches and pains. It also showed that one of the uses is for erectile

enhancing property. Desmodium velutinum being one of the important medicinal

plant in the world may have effect on the liver. However limited studies are

available on the effect of Desmodium velutinum treatment on hepatoprotective

effect of its extract on high fat diet fed animal. In this regard the present study was

aimed to investigate the effect of ethanol extract of Desmodium velutinum stem on

liver function tests on albino wistar rats fed with high fat from cow‟s brain related

to different hepatoprotective effect by comparing it to a known drug atorvastatin

treatment which is used to lower the level of cholesterol in blood. Since changes in

the concentration and composition of plasma lipid and lipoproteins occur frequently

in liver disease these findings may be useful in following the clinical course of

patient with liver diseases of various causes.

Liver disease is associated with characteristic changes in the lipid composition of

the surface coat of plasma lipoprotein particles. Cholesterol accumulate as hepatic

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secretion of lecithin cholesterol acyltransferase decreases such abnormal circulating

lipoproteins tend to induce corresponding changes in cell membrane lipid

composition. Studies in both human and experimental liver disease confirm that this

does occur and that it is wide-spread. Low density lipoproteins which are rich in

cholesterol can also be taken up by the liver or extrahepatic tissues by a receptor

mediated endocytosis that specially recognizes apolipoproteins. It can be predicted

that extra hepatic membrane dysfunction might be a general feature of severe liver

disease. It is proposed that many of the cellular disturbances and metabolic

abnormalities accompanying hepatic disease result from or are exacerbated by

lipoprotein induced changes in membrane lipid composition and function. Hence

Desmodium velutinum may be a source of a pharmacological active agent useful in

the treatment of high level cholesterol in the blood which has got both liver

protecting and nutritional value.

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