Antioxidant, hypolipidemic and preventive effect of Hawthorn (Crataegus oxyacantha) on alcoholic liver damage in rats

The use of alcoholic beverages is more common and accepted by our society despite the health risks. Alcohol catabolism produces free radicals that cause oxidative stress and damage in liver principally. Hawthorn (Crataegus oxyacantha) is a medicinal plant that has been shown to have wide variety of polyphenolic compounds with antioxidant and hypolipidemic effect. The objective of this study was the evaluation of Hawthorn methanol extract as preventive treatment in alcoholic damage. A rat model of chronic alcoholic intake was generated with the administration of 3 g/kg/day in two times with 35 % ethanol for twelve weeks to evaluate the protective effect of 50 mg/kg/day for twelve weeks of Hawthorn administration by the determination of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), γ-glutamyltranspeptidase (γ-GT), acid phosphatase (ACP), total bilirubin, liver glycogen, lipid peroxidation, serum total antioxidant capacity (TAC), total cholesterol, triglycerides, low density lipoproteins (LDL), and high density lipoproteins (HDL) levels in blood and hepatic tissues. Oxidative stress was evaluated by lipid peroxidation through MDA and TAC in the serum of animals. Lipid profile and glycogen was measured by LDL, HDL and glycogen concentration, respectively. Histological tissue cuts were visualized by hematoxylin eosin and Masson trichrome staining. Hawthorn treatment decreased AST, ALT, γ-GT and ACP activity in liver damage with a decrease of total bilirubin and an increase of liver glycogen stores in rats administrated with alcohol. Hawthorn showed an antioxidant and preventive effect decreasing liver lipid peroxidation levels and increasing serum TAC evidencing a hypolipidemic effect decreasing total cholesterol, triglycerides and LDL levels without affecting HDL levels. Our results indicate that Hawthorn exhibited a protective effect against liver damage in rats with chronic alcohol administration providing a possible alternative treatment for alcohol liver damage.   Key words: Crataegus oxyacantha, antioxidant, preventive treatment, hypolipidemic, alcoholic liver damage.