Protective effect of Centella asiatica on antioxidant tissue defense system against adriamycin induced cardiomyopathy in rats.

Increased oxidative stress and antioxidant deficit have been suggested to play a major role in adriamycin induced cardiomyopathy and congestive heart failure due to multiple treatments with adriamycin. In this study the cardio protective effect of Centella asiatica on myocardial marker enzymes and antioxidant enzymes in adriamycin induced cardiomyopathy was investigated in rats. The rats administered with adriamycin (2.5 mg/kg body wt, i.p) caused myocardial damage that was manifested by the elevation of serum marker (LDH, CPK, GOT and GPT) enzymes and showed significant changes in the antioxidant enzymes (SOD, CAT, GPx, GST). Pre-co-treatment with Centella asiatica(200 mg/kg of body wt/oral) extract significantly prevented these alterations and restored the enzyme activities to near normal levels. These findings demonstrate the cardio protective effect of Centella asiatica on antioxidant tissue defense system during adriamycin induced cardiac damage in rats.

Ethanol induced metabolic alterations and the effect of phyllanthus niruri in their reversal.

Phyllanthus niruri, Linn. (Kizha nelli in Tamil and Bahupatra and Bhumyamlaki in Sanskrit) which has been used widely for liver afflictions, was tried for its effectiveness in ethanol induced fatty liver, developed in rats, the increased deposition of triglyceride, cholesterol and phospholipid found in the liver, brain, kidney and heart due to ethanol administration were brought back towards the normal values on the administration of the herbal powder, however, in the intestine and stomach the increased ATPase activity observed due to alcohol ingestion, was only partially reduced.