Abstract
Brassica juncea (B. juncea) is an erect, often unbranched plant belongs to family Brassicaceae. Its seeds have been used in many countries to treat considerable common and chronic diseases as a folk remedy. The current study designed to investigate the in vitro and in vivo anticandidal effect of hydroehanolic extract of B. juncea seeds. Besides determine its bioactive compounds using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. Regarding, in vitro experiment, isolated Candida pelliculosa from blood and urine were used for the assessment of the antimicrobial effects of the extract. Considering in vivo study hepatoprotective effect of B. juncea extract against candidal-induced infection was estimated in male and female rats. The animals divided into four groups for each sex. Control group, B. juncea extract treated group, Candida infected group and infected group treated with B. juncea. Animals treated with tested extract 72 h post infection once daily for 14 days. Liver function test, liver glutathione (GSH) and lipid peroxidation (LPO) content were estimated as well as investigation of histological sections of liver. the extract displayed significant in vitro and in vivo anticandidal effect through alleviating its induced hepatotoxicity caused by infection either by significant decreased of liver enzymes and LPO or enhancing hepatic GSH content. Histopathological examination of the respective organs confirmed these findings. The GC-MS analysis of the extract revealed the presence of 17 components; Eremanthin considered as the main component (55%) considered as a potent antioxidant; may contribute to its hepatoprotective activity. These results indicated that the hydroehanolic extract of B. juncea seeds exhibits inhibitory effect against hepatotoxicity caused by candidiasis.