Hepato‐protective Effects of R‐phycoerythrin‐rich Protein Extract Ofportieria Hornemannii(lyngbye) Silva Against DEN‐induced Hepatocellular Carcinoma

The present investigation evaluates the hepato-protective potential of R-phycoerythrin (R-PE)-rich protein extract obtained from Portieria hornemannii (Lyngbye) Silva against H2O2-induced hepatotoxicity using HepG2 cells (in vitro) and male Wistar albino Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) rats (in vivo). H2O2 treatment led to dose-dependent decreases in cell viability of HepG2, which was ameliorated by the treatment with R-PE-rich extract. In vivo studies showed that all the vital parameters including enzymatic and nonenzymatic antioxidants as well as liver marker enzymes were affected in the experimentally induced HCC male Wistar rats upon exposure to the N-diethylnitrosamine (DEN), a carcinogen. However, there was moderate to better restoration of such parameters in the carcinoma rats treated with R-PE-rich protein extract.