Background and purpose: Medicinal plants have always been of great interest due to their natural and effective chemical components. Cardamom is one of these plants with many health benefits. In this study, hydro-alcoholic extract of cardamom fruit and its effect on serum levels of liver enzymes was investigated in male Wistar rats injected with lead acetate.

Materials and methods: In this study, 36 male Wistar rats weighing 220-250 g were randomly divided into 6 groups including a control, an experimental, treatment I, II, III groups and a positive control group. Treatment and experimental groups received lead acetate (500ppm) for four weeks. Then, the experimental group was given the cardamom extract for one week. Afterwards, direct blood was taken from hearts for measuring alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT). Samples of liver tissue were removed for histological studies. Data analysis was done applying ANOVA.

Results: The study showed that lead acetate increased the ALT, AST and GGT levels in liver that had destructive effects. But, the cardamom extract significantly decreased the ALT, AST and GGT level (P>0.001) which in turn had a remediable effect.

Conclusion: The study showed that hydro-alcoholic extract of cardamom has antioxidant and flavonoid components which protect liver against destructive increase of liver enzymes due to poisoning effects of lead acetate.