Pharmacologists here have found that a powdery extract prepared from the leaves of guava plant (Psidium guajava) protects liver from damage, a finding that may help in developing a cheap remedy for jaundice.
Mohammed Azad and co-workers at the Krupanidhi College of Pharmacy have experimentally demonstrated the liver protecting effects of the guava leaf extract in the case of rats.
Reporting this in the Indian Journal of Experimental Biology they say their discovery only confirms the traditional belief of people in Mangalore that the water decoction of guava leaves can cure jaundice within three days, AIR reported.
The scientists prepared the medicine by boiling powdered leaves of guava plant in water for one hour, filtering the extract through muslin cloth, and then evaporating the extract to obtain a powdery mass.
Colleagues Chanchal Roy and Jagadish Kamath found that rats that were orally fed the guava leaf extract escaped injury to liver when they tried to induce liver damage using chemicals. In contrast, rats that did not receive the extract suffered extensive damage to their liver.
The scientists believe the protective effect could be due to the antioxidant effect of the guava plant.