Effects of Ethanol Fraction of a Combination of Chromolaena Odorata and Carica Papaya on Liver Function Parameters of Ethanol-Induced Gastric Ulceration in Rats

Gastric ulcer remains one of the gastrointestinal disorders that have affected many people in the world over the centuries with a large population generally affected worldwide. This study is aimed at evaluating the effect of ethanol fraction of a combination of Chromolaena odorata leaves and Carica papaya leaves on liver function parameters of ethanol-induced ulceration in Wistar rats. Sequential fractionation of Chromolaena odorata and Carica papaya with five solvents namely; n-Hexane, Chloroform, Ethyl acetate, Butanol and ethanol was carried out to determine the most potent solvent which turned out to be the ethanol fraction. The ethanol fraction was then used for both prophylaxis (pre-treatment) and treatment of ethanol-induced ulceration in Wistar rats. In the study, 45 rats weighing between 120kg–180kg were distributed into 9 groups of 5 rats each. The rats were treated with varying doses (100mg/kg, 200mg/kg and 400mg/kg). After treatment using the extract, ulcer was induced orally using ethanol (5ml of ethanol for every 1000g of rat) the rats were sacrificed and blood samples were collected via open cardiac puncture, then the blood serum was used for liver function test which was carried out using randox kit to determine the level of some enzymes in the blood. The results for ulcer index showed a notable difference in the ulcer index of all treated groups. The result for liver function test showed a significant increase (p˂0.05) in alanine transaminase level in group G (100mg/kg treatment) with respect to group A (normal control) and group B (negative control). The alkaline phosphatase level showed no significant difference (p˂0.05) in all treated groups when compared to group A (normal control). However, the aspartate transaminase level showed that there is a non-significant increase in all treated groups compared to group B (ulcer untreated). The direct bilirubin level and total bilirubin level of the treated groups showed no significant difference (p˃0.05) compared to the control groups. The increase in the level of alanine transaminase and alkaline phosphatase in the blood serum is an indication for possible hepatotoxicity caused by the extract at doses, this implies that the use of combination of Chromolaena odorata leaves and Carica papaya leaves cannot be advised fully until more research on possible ways to reduce its hepatotoxicity is done.