Cichotyboside, A Sesquiterpene Glycoside from Cichorium intybus Attenuates Carbon Tetrachloride-Induced Liver Injury in Rat

Aims: Cichorium intybus L. is traditionally used for the management of the various liver disorders and also widely scientifically reported for hepatoprotection. The present study aims at investigating cichotyboside, bioactive sesquiterpene glycoside, from seeds for hepatoprotective effect against carbon tetrachloride (CCl 4 ) following isolation and characterization. Methods: Cichotyboside was isolated from C. intybus seeds and characterized by infrared spectroscopy (IR), liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC/MS), and carbon 13 nuclear magnetic resonance ( 13 C NMR). High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) have been developed for the standardization of Cichotyboside. In this study, biochemical assays, liver functional capacity restoration regarding drug metabolism, antioxidant potential, and histological staining were applied to evaluate the anti-hepatotoxic efficacy of cichotyboside on a carbon tetrachloride induced liver injury in rats. Results: The results showed that cichotyboside could significantly attenuate the pathological changes, increase the levels of hepatocyte repair, and regulate oxidative damage. Hepatoprotective activity of cichotyboside is indicated by its ability to decrease thiopental induced sleeping time, increased BSP clearance, reverse effect of CCl 4 on the body weight, relative liver weight, serum liver function parameters, histopathology and activity of liver antioxidant enzymes. Conclusion: Cichotyboside exerts hepatoprotective activity against the CCl 4 induced toxicity, possibly by its remarkable antioxidant potential, reversing the impaired metabolisms and repairing the fatty changes in hepatocytes.