Food & Nutrition

Arab Journal of Food & Nutrition
Arab Journal of Food & Nutrition
95. Effect of Pistacia atlantica and Pistacia palaestina Extracts on Liver
Function in the Rat (2007)
Mohammed Mustafa Hashim\ Jordan University of Science & Technology
Supervisor: Dr Sana Janakat
Pistacia lentiscus (mastics tree) is heavily used in the Jordanian folk medicine to
ameliorate jaundice, which is one of the symptoms of liver damage or diseases.
Therefore, it is being exposed to aggressive harvesting, and started to disappear from
its natural habitat. Therefore, this study was designed to compare between the
hepatoprotective effects of P. lentiscus and other members of this genus, namely
Pistacia palaestina and Pistacia atlantica that are widely abundant in Jordan. Total
phenolics, reducing power, lipid peroxidation inhibition ratio, and hepatoprotective
effects of the three plants were determined, where P. lentiscus was used as a
hepatoprotective reference.
Total phenolic compounds were the highest in P. atlantica (25.76 mg/ml) and the
lowest in P. palaestina (9.3 mg/ml). The reducing power activity was the highest in P.
atiantica (0.218) and the lowest in P. palaestina (0.116). Lipid peroxidation inhibition
ratio was the highest in P. lentiscus (78.33%) while it was the lowest in P. palaestina
(73.37%). Hepatoprotective activity of the three plants was assessed using CCL4
intoxication followed by determination of liver function parameters, namely Alanine
aminotransferase, Aspartate amino transferase and Alkaline phosphatase in addition to
total bilirubin. The best hepatoprotective activity was observed in P. lentiscus followed
P. palaestina, while P. atlantica effect was comparable to that of the intoxicated group.
These results suggest that P. palaestina can be used as a hepatoprotective remedy
instead of P. lentiscus, while the crude extract of the P. atlantica at this concentration
has behaved as a pro-oxidant which lead to an increase in liver function parameters.
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The Tenth Year - Issue 24 - 2010
Volume 11, No. 25, 2011
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