Aim: To evaluate the in vitro antioxidant and hepatoprotective activity of Potentilla fulgens root extracts against ethanol-induced hepatotoxicity. Materials and Methods: In vitro antioxidant activity for the methanolic and aqueous root extracts of Potentilla fulgens was carried out by DPPH, superoxide anion and hydroxyl radical scavenging methods. For hepatoprotective effect, the hepatic markers such as alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate amino transferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), total bilirubin and total proteins were estimated using standard kits. The histopathological studies of the liver sections excised from rats was also done. Findings: Preliminary phytochemical test reveals the presence of carbohydrate, flavonoids, alkaloids, tannins and phenolic compounds. In vitro antioxidant activity shows that the methanolic root extract of Potentilla fulgens exhibited strong antioxidant capacity with IC50 values of 60.27μg/ml (DPPH) , 73.12μg/ml (Superoxide anion radical) and 80.55μg/ml (Hydroxyl radical) respectively in comparison to the aqueous extract. Hence, the methanolic extract was selected for hepatoprotective studies. The results showed that administration of methanolic root extract of Potentilla fulgens inhibits the liver damage due to alcohol as evident from histopathological studies of the liver. The HPTLC fingerprinting analysis of the methanolic root extract of Potentilla fulgens at different wavelengths showed numerous peaks indicating the presence of many compounds which may provide basic information regarding the isolation, purification, characterization and identification of marker chemical compounds of the plant species. Conclusion: From our study, the methanolic root extract of Potentilla fulgens shows potent hepatoprotective effectsin a dose dependant manner, hence it can be used as a natural protecting agent against liver damage.
