Abstract
 
Background: Hepatic  fibrosis  is  the  accumulation of  extracellular  matrix  protein,  or  scar,  in  response  to  acute  or  chronic liver  injury.
This study investigated the effect of ethanolic leaf extract of Vernonia amygdalina on extracellular matrix protein: hyaluronic acid (HA),
liver synthetic molecules: total protein (TP), albumin (ALB), total bilirubin (TB) as well as lysosomal membrane stability: acid phospha-tase (ACP) in dimethylnitrosamine (DMN)-induced fibrotic rats.  
Methods: Wistar albino male rats were intraperitoneally injected with 10 mg/kg DMN on first three days a week for two weeks. Ethanol-ic leaf extracts of Vernonia amygdalina (200 mg /kg) was administered simultaneously by oral gavage daily for two weeks. All rats were
sacrificed after 24 hours of last administration by cardiac puncture, and blood collected from the ocular vein. Analysis of serum ACP and
LDH activities with those of the concentrations of HA, ALB, TP and TB were carried out.  
Results: Administration of DMN to rats significantly increased HA and TB concentration and the activities of ACP and LDH (p<0.05) in
the serum while it significantly reduced (p<0.05) serum TP and ALB concentrations when compared with controls. However, simultane-ous administration of ethanolic leaf extracts of Vernonia amygdalina with DMN significantly (p<0.05) reversed these changes.  
Conclusion: This study shows that Vernonia amygdalina possesses hepatoprotective, lysosomal  membrane stabilizing and anti-fibrotic
properties may be due to its antioxidant and phytochemical constituents.