| Summary: | <p><em>Convolvulus</em> L., the second largest genus of the family Convolvulaceae, has about 250 species distributed mainly in the temperate and tropical regions of the world, with a cosmopolitan distribution. According to recent studies, this genus is represented in Turkey by 33 species, 9 of which are endemic. <em>Convolvulus</em> species are extensively used in traditional medicine for various purposes as in ulcer treatment, diabetes, and tension. The aim of this study was to investigate the<strong> </strong>antioxidant activity and the effects of <em>Convolvulus aucheri</em> extract on biochemical indices in rats.</p><p>The antioxidant activities of various solvent extracts (methanol, ethanol, acetone and benzene) obtained from <em>C. aucheri</em> were evaluated by using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and β-carotene-linoleic acid assays. In addition, total phenolic contents in all the extracts of <em>C. aucheri</em> were determined as gallic acid equivalents. As for the biochemical assay, the extracts of the plant at the concentrations of 0.5 and 1 ml/100 g body weight/day were administered orally to the experimental groups for 36 days. Blood samples were taken by cardiac venipuncture on the 2<sup>nd</sup> and 4<sup>th</sup> weeks after the initial treatment. Aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) were measured for the determination of liver function.</p><p class="Default">Among all the extracts, the ethanolic extracts of <em>C. aucheri</em> showed the highest antioxidant activity (66.88 ± 0.8%). The highest free radical scavenging activity (59.50 ± 1.2%) was recorded on the ethanolic extracts. The phenolic contents of the ethanolic extracts are higher than the other types of extracts (23.03 mg/g GAE). In biochemical assay, it was found a significant increase in the levels of serum ALT, AST and decrease the serum GGT levels in the experimental groups when compared to the controls (p<0.05). On the other hand, we found significant increase in the level of BUN.</p>
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