Background: Acute and chronic ethanol consumption causes oxidative stress in the liver and Zingiber officinale Roscoe (ginger) ginger improves the function of the liver. Objectives: In the present study, the hepatoprotective effects of ginger extract on liver enzymes, lipid profiles, and indices of oxidative stress, including antioxidant enzymes activity and Malondialdehyde (MDA) against hepatotoxicity induced by ethanol in male rats was evaluated. Methods: Twenty-eight adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly allocated to four groups and were treated daily for 28 days as follows: group I: control (received normal saline), group II: ginger (1 g/kg/day ginger extract solution in saline by oral gavage), group III: ethanol (4 g/kg/day ethanol by oral gavage), and group IV: ginger + ethanol. At the end of the experimental period, obtained sera from blood samples were used for assessment of liver enzymes and lipids, and liver tissue homogenate was used for estimating oxidative biomarkers. Furthermore, total phenolics content and in vitro antioxidant potential of ginger extract was determined to correlate hepatoprotective activity with phytochemical and antioxidant activity. Results: In the ethanol group, the results showed a significant increase in biomarkers of oxidative stress and liver function biomarkers compared to other groups (P < 0.05). The level of altered enzyme markers was ameliorated significantly in the ginger co-treatment (ginger + ethanol) group (P < 0.05), while no significant difference in biochemical parameters were observed in ginger alone and control groups. Conclusions: It can be concluded that ginger extract has protective effects against toxicity induced by ethanol in the liver of male rats. The protective effect may be attributed to the presence of phenolics and flavonoids components.
