ABSTRACT
Kola bark extract have been widely used in tradition medicine for thousand of
year, it improves liver functions and provides protection against high fat fed
metabolic rats. Present investigations were carried out on the hepatoprotective
role of Kola bark extract meal treatment to high fat fed wistar rat. Healthy
adult male wistar rats were divided into four groups Group I: rats were fed a
standard Laboratory diet (groups match) (20g/rat/day), Group II: rats were fed
a high-fat diet alone (3.6g/rat/day), Group III: rats were fed with combined
mixture of 70% of high-fat diet with 30% Kola bark meal (9.8g/rat /day),
Group/ V: rats were fed with high fat diet and was administered with Lipitor
(Atovastatin) (10mg/rat/day) . The rats were sacrificed at the end of the
experiment (two weeks) period. The high fat fed rat substantially elevated its
serum and liver tissue AST, ALT, ALP, bilirubin with decreased in total
protein levels. Where as the levels of all parameters significantly restored
towards normalization by the kola bark husk meal treatment. The results
obtained suggest that the Kola bark meal have potent hepatoprotective action
on high fat fed rats. A companion of the performance in both Kola bark meal
and Lipitor treatment on high fat fed rat in respect of hepatoprotective role is
clearly indicator that the Kola bark meal treatment was more and related to the
result of Lipitor as well as to the normal level.

CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Liver is the largest and most complex internal organ in the body. It plays
an important role in the maintenance of internal environment through its
multiple and diverse functions. Liver is involved in several vital functions such
as metabolism, secretion and storage. Hepatitis or inflammatory disorder
involves inflammation and damage to the hepatocytes. Hepatitis is one of the
most prevalent diseases in the world. Every year 18,000 people had been
reported to die due to liver cirrhosis caused by viral hepatitis [L] Ectopic fat
storage occurs in obesity particularly in the liver leading to a condition termed
nonalcoholic fatty liver disease [NAFLD] characterized by varying degree of
liver injury that progresses from steatosis to tratohepatitis, fibrosis and necrosis
Due to its prominent association with IR (insulin resistance). Obesity, NAFLD
is regarded as the hepatic manifestation of metabolite [3] syndrome. Liver has
great capacity to detoxicate toxic substances.
Kola pod is the traditional health food around the world. Kola pod Husk
meal is the residue after grinding the pod of kola and filtration, and it is an
excellent source in slightly high in fiber (16.74%), low in crude protein
(9.98%), moderate NFE (42.391) and metabolizable energy 2497 kcal/kg, and
ash content is relatively high. (13.26%). when companied with the values
reported by (Oluokun, 1999) ;(Hamzat and Babatunde, 2001). These
differences might be due to varietals differenced and shelf life of the test
ingredient before analysis. However, the crude protein content fairly put kola
pod husk meal (KPHM) with feed ingredients like Sorghum while the fibre
content put it in same proximate composition with Bremer‘s grains. Kola pod
being one of the important pods for medical treatment in the world. The kola
pod husk provides some essential materials for doth drying. The pod bark,
when mixed with some ingredients is used in traditional medicine to reduce
Labour pains. The bark is used in treating swellings and fresh wounds. The
roots provide excellent chewing sticks for cleaning the teeth and the wood is
used in local carvings coachwork and boatbuilding.
Lipid refers to the different kind of fats present in the bodies of human plasma
include triglyceride (TG), phospholipids (PL), cholesterol esters (CE), and free
cholesterol (FC) and non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA. Each lipid plays a
different role in our bodies yet all of them except free cholesterol (FC) contain
esters of long chain fatty acid in their structures. Lipids are insoluble in
plasma due to their non- polar structures thus; they need some carriers that are
soluble in polar and non- polar environment. Lipids are packaged and carried
in the form of lipoprotein, which is a molecule that contains both protein (i.e.
apolipoprotein) and lipids.
Statins (lipitor) are group of drugs approved for their Cholesterol
reduction properties and are commonly used to treat atherosclerosis and
coronary artery disease. These drugs inhibit 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl
Coenzyme A (HMG-COA) reductase. The rate limiting enzyme in cholesterol
biosynthesis; which converts HMG.CoA to mevalonate. Apart from
cholesterol, mevalonate is also the substrate for the synthesis of nonsteroid,
isoprenoids such as coenzyme Q. Depletion of these isoprenoids results in the
so called plelotropic effects of statins which are independent of cholesterol.
Lowering effect.These plelotropic effects of anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic
and ant-proliferative effect. In addition, data from experimental and
observational studies indicated that statins have neuroprotective effects and be
a treatment option for neurodegenerative diseases of the central nervous
system and the ocular structures particularly the retina (schemer, 2007). Statins
(Atorvastatin) is widely used in the treatment of hepatic diseases. They have
been widely used in chinning proactive as cholesterol lowering agents to
reduce mobility and mortality from coronary artery diseases. It also has an
effect in inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, and multiple
sclerosis.
However, limited studies are available on the effect of kola pod husk meal
treatment on hepatoprotective effect in high fat diet fed animal in this regard,
the present study was aimed to investigate the effect of kola pod meal on highfat
fed rats related to different hepatoprotective effect by comparing Lipitor
Treatment.