Present study clearly demonstrates the ameliorating effects of Phyllanthus niruri extract on hepatic injury caused by repeated paracetamol dosing in fishes. Activitiey of serum Alkaline phosohatase in the paracetamol treated group had a sharp and significant increase as compared to a healthy control group indicating successful induction of hepatotoxicity by repeated dosing of paracetamol. Histopathological studies also indicated significant alterations in liver architecture in paracetamol treated animals compared to the normal control group, further indicating liver damage. The healthy control group displayed normal liver histology while the paracetamol treated group showed swollen or occasionally apoptotic hepatocytes with coarse granular cytoplasm and compressed sinusoids. Severe lymphocytic infiltration was also noticed. Phyllanthus niruri treated groups exhibited strikingly normal liver histology without any anatomically detectable anomalies. In them the alkaline phosphatase activity also recorded normal range. When the paracetamol injected group was treated with P. niruri extract there was promisingly sharp decline in elevated ALP level. The hepatic tissue architecture also showed signs of cure as treated with P.niruri. When fishes pretreated with P.niruri extract was given paracetamol injection as in treated group there was little damage caused when compared with paracetamol alone treated group. All these results clearly shows that the aqueous extract of P. niruri proved to be capable of providing hepatoprotection against paracetamol induced hepatotoxicity.
