Worldwide, liver diseases remain one of the major health problems. Unfortunately, drugs in allopathic medical practices used in the treatment of liver diseases are inadequate and sometimes can have serious side effects. The present study was aimed to evaluate the hepatoprotective activity of berberine, a traditional drug from Southeast Asia, against paracetamol induced liver damage in rats. Paracetamol (2gm/kg) administration to rats resulted in massive elevation in serum liver marker enzymes, serum bilirubin, and thiobarbutiric acid reactive substance (TBARS) level with a significant decrease in plasma glutathione (GSH) level, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activities. Berberine (120mg/kg) was effectively protecting the animals from hepatotoxicity induced by paracetamol. This was evident from significant reduction in serum liver marker enzymes, serum bilirubin, lipid peroxidation and an increase in plasma SOD, GSH, GPx levels. It was concluded from the result that berberine shows promising hepatoprotective activity against paracetamol induced hepatotoxicity in wistar rats
