2005). The oil of N. sativa at dose of 1 mL/kg body weight was investigated in CCl4-

induced liver damage in rats. Administration of N. sativa oil resulted in marked

improvement in hepatic enzymes, total bilirubin, creatinine, uric acid, lipid peroxide

total cholesterol, triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein, very low-density lipoproteins,

interleukin-6,

and

antioxidant

enzymes

showing

its

protective

role

in

hepatoprotection (Al-Seeni et al. 2016).

29.2.6.18 Phyllanthus niruri and Phyllanthus amarus

Phyllanthus niruri is a well-known plant of family Euphorbiaceae and is commonly

known as bhuiamlaki. It is used in folklore medicine for the treatment of—among

others, like malaria, viral and bacterial infections, diarrhoea—jaundice and liver

disorders. The main hepatoprotective compounds present in the plant are lignans

phyllanthin and hypophyllanthin. The hexane fraction obtained from the ethanol

extract showed good hepatoprotective activity. Both compounds showed remarkable

liver protection in CCl4 and galactosamine-induced cytotoxicity in cultured rat

hepatocytes due to their antioxidant activity (Anand and Lal 2016). Furthermore,

the ethanol extract of P. niruri (PN) was evaluated at doses of 100 and 200 mg/kg for

8 weeks in thioacetamide (TAA)-induced liver cirrhosis in rats. Treatment with PN

ameliorated the TAA-induced elevated liver biochemical parameters, total antioxi-

dant capacity, lipid peroxidation and oxidative stress enzyme levels and also

minimized the inflammation and maintained the normal hepatic architecture (Amin

et al. 2012). Very similar effect has been demonstrated with the other plant of this

family Phyllanthus amarus (Ogunmoyole et al. 2020).

29.2.6.19 Picrorhiza kurroa

Picrorhiza kurroa belongs to family Scrophulariaceae, and it consists of dried

rhizomes of the plant. It is commonly known as kutki and found in Sikkim,

Himalayas and Jammu and Kashmir. The main glycosidal bitter principle present

in the root is known as kutkin, and it is a mixture of two iridoid glycosides picroside I

and kutkoside. The plant has been used mainly for the treatment of liver and lung

disorders. The main constituent kutkin is used as an antioxidant, hepatoprotective

and immunomodulator and also helps in the digestion of fats. Kutkin is useful in the

treatment of fatty liver, and it also helps in the regulation of fats in liver (Satyapal

et al. 2008). The aqueous extract of P. kurroa (PE) was evaluated for its

hepatoprotective activity using ethanol-induced model of hepatotoxicity in mouse

liver slice culture. Ethanol treatment resulted in the significant increase in intracellu-

lar enzyme levels such as lactate dehydrogenase, glutamate oxaloacetate transami-

nase and glutamate pyruvate transaminase along with increase in oxidative stress.

Treatment with PE at the doses of 0.5, 10 and 20 mg/mL restored the levels of these

enzymes and decreased the lipid peroxidation (Sinha et al. 2011).

29.2.6.20 Silybum marianum

Silybum marianum belongs to family Asteraceae and is mainly found in Western

Himalayas at a height of 1800 m and in Kashmir at 2400 m high. It is commonly

known as milk thistle, and its main active compound is silymarin which helps in the

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