Yousif A. Elhassaneen^1,, Seham A. Khader¹, Mai A. Gharib¹, Yasmine E. Abd-ElAziz¹

The present study aims to investigate the possible protective roles of poinciana (Delonix regia) seeds powder (DRSP) against carbon tetrachloride-induced biochemical and histological disorders in rat liver. Also, minerals, bioactive compounds content and antioxidant activity of the DRSP will be in the scope of this investigation. Proximate chemical composition of DRSP indicated that carbohydrates was the largest compound (50.49 ± 0.91 g.100g^-1) followed by crude fat (16.91 ± 1.06 g.100g^-1), crude fiber (13.73 ± 3.27 g.100g^-1), total protein (9.04 ± 0.43 g.100g^-1) and ash (1.25 ± 0.19 g.100g^-1). Also, DRSP is rich in different estimated minerals and the trend of the abundance in decreasing order is as follows Na> Zn> Fe> Mn>Cu>K>Mg>P>Ca>Se. Bioactive compounds content in DRSP indicated that indicated that polysaccharides were the largest compound followed by polyphenols, saponin, oxalate, tannin, carotenoids, and kaempherol. DRSP exhibited good antioxidant activity which compares well with the standard antioxidants. On the other side, biological experiments indicated that Injected of normal rats carbon tetrachloride, CCl₄, (model control) exhibited significantly (p≤0.05) decreased in body weight (BW, --48.35%), feed intake (FI, -34.31%) and feed efficiency ratio (FER,- -32.88%) compared to the normal group. However, intervention with DRSP (5, 10, 15 and 20 g/100g diet) in feeding rats for 4 weeks led to significantly (p≤0.05) decrease on theses parameters of the hepatoytoxic rats (model control) by different rates. Also, Intervention with DRSP in feeding rats led to significantly (p≤0.05) enhancing in the serum lipid profile parameters, minimizing the liver functions and positively manipulates the CCl₄-related histopathological changes in liver of the hepatotoxic rats. These findings provide a basis for the use of DRSP for the prevention and treatment of hepatotoxicity. Data also supports the benefits of diet modification and DRSP supplementation in alleviating disorders associated with liver chemical pollutants, including CCl₄.

minerals, bioactive compounds, antioxidant activity, liver functions, serum lipid profile, serum total protein, albumin