Abstract

The biochemical effects of administration of embelin a benzoquinone derivative from Embelia ribes and curcumin (diferuloyl methane) isolated from Curcuma longaagainst a 2 step hepatocarcinogenic regimen comprising of N-nitrosodiethylamine(DENA)/phenobarbital (PB) was studied in wistar strain male albino rats with respect to lipid profile, renal function tests and levels of blood glucose. Rats administered DENA/PB showed hyper cholesterolaemia, hyper triglyceridaemia, elevated low-density lipoproteins (LDL), free fatty acids (FFA), very-low-density lipoproteins (VLDL) levels and decreased urea levels. Pre- and co-treatment with embelin and curcumin for 14 weeks significantly prevented the biochemical alterations induced by DENA/PB. Results of our study suggest the protective and hypolipidemic effects of embelin and curcumin during chemically- induced hepatocarcinogenesis in wistar rats.

Key words: Embelin, curcumin, N-nitrosodiethylamine, phenobarbital, cholesterolaemia, triglyceridaemia.