الفهرس 
Aim of the workOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Liver fibrosis remains a major health problem. Nearly all chronic liver diseases eventually lead to liver fibrosis and cirrhosis. Fibrotic liver diseases predispose to liver failure, portal hypertension, and are associated with increased risk of liver cancer.
Fortunately, liver fibrosis is a reversible process if treated early, encouraging the development of novel anti-fibrotic agents that may accelerate histological restoration.
Pumpkin seed oil (PSO) is a rich source of unsaturated fatty acids, proteins, minerals and phytosterols. It has been shown to have estrogenic, antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal, antihelminthic, anticarcinogenic antioxidant and antifibrotic effects as well as liver protective effects.
Therefore, it would be worthwhile to study the effect of pumpkin seed oil on liver fibrosis induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) in the adult male albino rats.
Materials and Methods:
The current study was conducted on seventy adult male albino rats weighing 200-250 grams (8-9 month age).
The rats were divided into six experimental groups:
group I (Control group):
This group included 18 adult male albino rats and was subdivided into 2 subgroups:
Subgroup (Ia) (Plain control):
This group consisted of twelve rats kept without any treatment. Six rats were sacrificed after eight weeks and the remaining rats were sacrificed after twelve weeks.
Subgroup (Ib) (Sham control):
This group consisted of six rats received intraperitoneal (IP) injection of corn oil, a solvent of CCl4, at dose of 1 ml/kg twice weekly for eight weeks.
group II (Pumpkin seed oil group):
This group consisted of twelve rats. They were given PSO at dose of 4 ml/kg/day once daily orally by intragastric tube for four weeks. They were subdivided equally into two subgroups scarified according to the timing schedule of the corresponding experimental group (group IV and V).
group III (Liver fibrosis group):
This group consisted of ten rats. They were given IP injection of CCl4 dissolved in corn oil (1:1) at a dose of 1 ml/kg, twice weekly for eight weeks.
group IV (Early therapeutic group):
This group consisted of ten rats. In this group, liver fibrosis was induced by IP injection of CCl4 at the same dose and duration as group III. After 4 weeks of CCl4 treatment, the rats were treated with PSO at the same dose as group II from the 5th to 8th week.