A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THERESTORATIVE EFFECTS OF OCIMUM GRATISSIMUM AND OCIMUM CANUM ON ALCOHOL INDUCED HEPATOTOXICITY IN ALBINO RATS

Many species of Ocimum possess anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anti-microbial properties and the plants are widely used in Ayurveda. The oxidative stress induced by ethanol consumption had been implicated the changes in the structure and functions of liver cells especially the membrane phospholipids leading to lipid peroxidation. This study was to assess the curative potential of the methanol extract of two different species of Ocimum, O. canum and O. gratissimum on alcohol induced hepatotoxicity in albino rats. Male Wister rats of body weight 200-250 g, were divided into 6 groups of six rats each as (1) NC- normal control with normal diet (2) EC- alcohol control fed on alcohol for thirty days; (3) EX-1 MEOG (methanol extract of Ocimum gratissimum) only to check the toxicity of the extract, (4) EX- 2 MEOC (methanol extract of Ocimum canum) only to check whether the extract had any toxic effect of its own and (5) EX- 3 MEOG after treating with ethanol for thirty days and confirming the hepatotoxicity, and (6) EX- 4 MEOC after the ethanol treatment. The rats were sacrificed after 30 days, and the blood collected fo