THE EFFECT OF N-HEXANE FRACTION OF Phyllanthus amarus

ABSTRACT

Phyllanthus amarus is a herbal plant with a wide range of therapeutic and pharmacological properties. Several scientific research have been carried out to show the effectiveness of this herb against ailments such as gonorrhea, diabetes, genital infections, fever, wounds, jaundice and cancers. The present study investigated the effects of 250mg/kg body weight of n-hexane fraction of ethanoic extract of Phyllanthus amarus on 1,2 -Dimethylhydrazine-induced colorectal cancer in Swiss albino mice of weights 17g -30g were acclimatized for a week and randomized into 3 groups (5 mice per group). Group A (-DMH) as positive control, Group B (DMH, 250mg/kg body weight of n-hexane fraction of ethanoic extract of P. amarus) as treated mice, and group C (+ DMH) as negative control. DMH was administered with an oral dolphin gavage with administered doses at 1% body weight of animals), lasting for 8 weeks. The plant extract was administered daily with the aid of an oral gavage for 14 days immediately after colorectal cancer induction. In the present study, the antioxidant parameters are Superoxide dismutase (SOD) (x103 ) (u/mg protein), Catalase (CAT) (x10-2 ) (u/mg), Glutathione (GSH) (µMGSH/gram wet tissue), Glutathione peroxidase (GPX) (u/mg wet tissue) and Malondialdehyde (MDA) (x104 ) (mm/L).