Influence of Hibiscus sabdariffa on the rhythmic alterations of liver markers in experimental hyperammonemic rats

Our aim of the present study is to analyze the influence of Hibiscus sabdariffa, an indigenous edible medicinal plant used in Ayurvedic and traditional medicine in India, on the circadian alterations of hepatic marker enzymes in ammonium chloride (AC) induced hyperammonemic rats. Adult male Wistar rats (160-180g) were divided into control, AC (daily i.p. injection of AC (100mg/kg)) treated, AC+H. sabdariffa ethanolic leaf extract (HSEt) (250mg/kg) treated and HSEt treated groups. Temporal characteristics (acrophase, amplitude and mesor) of liver marker enzymes, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), aspartate and alanine transaminases (ALT and AST) and -glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT), were analyzed. Elevated liver marker enzymes (increased mesor and delayed acrophase of AST, ALT, ALP and GGT) were found in hyperammonemic rats. Administration of HSEt significantly alters the activities of liver marker enzymes. Variations in acrophase, amplitude and 'r' values were also found between the control and experimental rats. The detectable circadian rhythms of hepatic marker enzymes and their alterations during AC/HSEt treatments, in the current study, deserve further investigation for the diagnosis and the therapeutic efficacy of hyperammonemia.