Effects Of Carvacrol Upon The Liver Of Rats Undergoing Partial Hepatectomy

There are several studies reporting effects of volatile oils upon human health extracted from origanum (kekik). The present study aims to investigate the possible effects of purified carvacrol obtained from origanum and silymarin upon the regenerative feature of the liver subsequent to partial hepatectomy in rats. The carvacrol was tested in comparison with silymarin ale Wistar Albino rats, weighting 230±30g, were divided into 3 experiment groups. First group rats, called Group 1 (n=8) were used as control group. Rats in Group 2 (n=8) were applied carvacrol and hepatectomy (73mg/kg). Silymarin and hepatectomy (100mg/kg) were applied to the last group of the rats, Group 3 (n=8).

One dose of test materials was injected to Groups 2 and 3 one hour before 68% partial hepatectomy. At the end of the experiments, blood and organs were removed intra cortically.

The liver regeneration ratio of the rats was calculated measuring the half weights of their liver before and after the hepatectomy.

H&E, IL-6 and PCNA treatments were applied to liver sections. AST, ALT, TNF-α and IL-6 levels were determined in serum samples. In AST, ALT, TNF-α and IL-6 levels, there were no statistically significant difference. Mitotic index and PCNA index comparisons were displayed significant differences; between Group 1 and 2, p<0.001 between Group 1 and 2, p<0.05 between Group 2 and 3. Histological evaluations were also similar with these results of PCNA and Mitotic indexes.

According to these results, it is concluded that carvacrol increases the liver regeneration ratio.