Spinacia oleracea (S.

oleracea: Chenopodiaceae family), frequently known as spinach and was endowed

with medicinal properties. Ethnopharmacological reports revealed that S. oleracea extracts have
promising hypolipidemic [9], anti-apoptotic [10] and antioxidant [11] effects. It is an exceptional package
of antioxidant phytoconstituents like polyphenols, flavonoids, tocopherols, carotenoids, ascorbates, p-
coumarins and vitamins which were responsible for its pharmacotherapeutic and biomedicinal
potentials [12]. In addition, literature review demonstrated the potential hepatoprotective capacities of
S. oleracea against hepatotoxicity induced by CCl4 (carbon tetrachloride) [13] as well as gamma
radiation induced oxidative stress.

In recent years, the prevention of CVDs has been associated with the ingestion of fresh fruits, vegetables
or plants rich in natural antioxidants [8]. The protective effects of plants can be due to the presence of
flavonoids, anthocyanins and phenolic compounds [9,10]. Spinach is one of the most important leafy
vegetables, which contains large quantities of bioactive compounds and nutrients such as carotenoids,
tocopherols, phenolic compounds, folates, p-coumarins, ascorbates and minerals [11]. In view of this,
the present study was designed to identify antiatherogenic, anti-apoptotic and anti-inflammatory
activity of Spinacia oleracea methanolic leaf extract (SoLE) in ISO induced male albino Wistar rats via
activation of pro-inflammatory signaling pathway that drives myocardial necrosis.

All these antioxidant compounds of spinach, including polyphenols, have been associated with disease
prevention, including cancer (Maeda et al. 2010). Moreover, Bhatia and Jain (2004) reported the
protective effect of a methanolic extract of S. oleracea against radiation-induced oxidative stress.
Recently, Gomathi et al. (2010) have shown the very efficient anti-hyperglycaemic and anti-
hyperlipidaemic effects of ethanolic and aqueous extracts of spinach leaves. Spinach extracts can also
stimulate myocyte protein synthesis in vitro and increase muscle strength in vivo in mice and rats
(Gorelick-Feldman et al. 2008), these effects being attributed to the presence of ecdysteroids.

Spinach, (Spinacia oleracea L.) is a popular vegetable. The hepatoprotective activity of the

ethanolic extract of the leaves of spinach (EESO) was studied against carbon tetrachloride
(CCl4)-induced oxidative stress (OS) and liver injury in rats. Pretreatment of rats with EESO, at
250 and 500 mg/kg body weight for 21 consecutive days significantly prevented the CCl4-
induced hepatic damage as indicated by the serum marker enzymes (SGOT, SGPT, ALP and
GGT) and bilirubin levels. Parallel to these changes, the leaves extract also prevented CCl4-
induced OS in rat liver by inhibiting lipid peroxidation (LPO) and restoring the levels of
antioxidant non-enzymatic biomarker, such as total protein (TP) and non-protein sulfhydryl (NP-
SH) in liver tissue. The biochemical changes were consistent with the histological findings of the
liver tissue suggesting marked hepatoprotective effect of the leaves extract in a dose-dependent
manner, besides, a significant reduction was also observed in pentobarbital-induced sleeping
time in mice. The results of spinach extract were comparable to that of silymarin. The protective
effect of the EESO against CCl4-induced acute hepatotoxicity could be attributed to the potent
antioxidant constituents of the spinach.