Hepatoprotective effects of extracts, fractions and compounds from the stem bark of Pentaclethra macrophylla Benth: Evidence from in vitro and in vivo studies.

Aim: To identify the bioactive hepatoprotective components of the ethanol extract of Pentaclethra macrophylla stem bark using in vitro and in vivo approaches.

Methods: The bioguided-fractionation of the ethanol extract was based on the substances' capacity to prevent in vitro, the lipid peroxidation of hepatocytes' membranes induced by hydrogen peroxide. For the in vivo hepatoprotective test, mice were treated orally with the ethyl acetate (EtOAc) fraction of the ethanol extract at doses of 50 and 75 mg/kg/day for one week and subjected to d-galactosamine/lipopolysaccharide (GaIN/LPS)-induced hepatotoxicity.