Antioxidant Potential of the Flowers of Woodfordia fruticosa(L.) Kurz. in Albino Rats

Oxidative damage caused by free radicals is thought to be a basic mechanism underlying many diverse pathological conditions. Protection from free radical damage to biomolecules occurs through the action of antioxidants. The objective of the present contribution was to evaluate the antioxidant potential of the flowers of Woodfordia fruticosa in albino rat models. Lipid peroxidation was induced with carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄) in male albino rats of Sprague Dawley strain. The animals were divided into 3 groups. Group I served as pair-fed control. Groups II and III received a dose of 0.3ml CCl₄ in liquid paraffin (3:1, v/v) per 100g body weight simultaneously twice a week for a period of two months. Group III rats, in addition to CCl₄, received a dose of 1000mg/kg body weight/day of W. fruticosa flower powder. The animals were sacrificed at the end of the experimental period and the levels of lipid peroxidation products and antioxidant status of the liver and kidney were determined. There was a significant increase in the concentration of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and conjugated dienes in liver and kidney during CCl₄ treatment compared to pair-fed control. The activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione-Stransferase and glutathione peroxidase in liver and kidney were significantly decreased in CCl₄-treated rats compared to pair-fed control. There was also a decrease in the content of glutathione in liver and kidney of CCl₄-intoxicated rats. Administration of W. fruticosa along with CCl₄ restored the activities of the antioxidant enzymes, the level of glutathione and lipid peroxide products to near normal status compared to the corresponding CCl₄ given rats.