60EVALUATION OF HEPATOPROTECTIVE AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF Helianthus annuss FLOWERS AGAINST CARBON TETRACHLORIDE(CCl4) - INDUCED TOXICITYThe present study was conducted to evaluate the hepatoprotective activity of ethanolic and aqueous extracts of Helianthus annus flowers in CCl4 induced hepatotoxicity in wistar rats. Silymarin (25mg/kg, p.o.) was given as reference drug. Treatment with the Helianthus annus flower extracts significantly (p<0.001) reduced elevated serum enzymatic level of Serum Glutamate Oxaloacetate Transaminase (SGOT), Serum Glutamate Pyruvate Transaminase (SGPT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and Total Bilirubin when treated with 200mg/kg body weight in both CCl4 induced rats. These biochemical Observations were in turn confirmed by histopathological examinations of liver sections and are comparable with the standard hepatoprotective drug Silymarin (25mg/kg bodyweight) which served as a positive control. Meanwhile, in vivo antioxidant activities as lipid peroxides (LPO), reduced glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) were also screened which were also found significantly positive in test animals. Histopathology studies were carried out to confirm the study. The results of this study strongly indicate the Helianthus annus flowers have potent hepatoprotective action against CCl4 induced hepatic damage in rats.vasusri.ake@gmail.comResearch422014Helianthus annus,Hepatoprotective,Biochemical Parameters,Antioxidant,HistopathologyVasavi ake,D.K.Satapathy,S.Tripathy,K. SrinivasSri Vasavi Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tadepalligudem - 534101, West Godavari, Andhra Pradesh, India,Sri Vasavi Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tadepalligudem - 534101, West Godavari, Andhra Pradesh, India,Sri Vasavi Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tadepalligudem - 534101, West Godavari, Andhra Pradesh, India,Sri Vasavi Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tadepalligudem - 534101, West Godavari, Andhra Pradesh, India