ABSTRACT
Abstract Liver ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury is a major clinical trouble encountered in clinical practice. This study aimed to examine the therapeutic effects of silymarin (SM) plus glutathione (GSH) on hepatic IR injury using a rat model of liver IR. Fifty male rats were randomly divided into five groups, each consisting of 10 rats as follows: Sham, IR, SM-IR, GSH-IR and SM plus GSH-IR. All groups except sham were subjected to 30-min ischemia and 24-h reperfusion. The treated groups received 100 mg/kg of SM, GSH and a mixture of SM plus GSH, 60 min prior to the IR. After a period of 24 h, blood and liver samples were collected for biochemical and histopathological evaluations. Pretreatment with SM, GSH and SM plus GSH before hepatic IR significantly decreased IR-induced elevations of aminotransferases, and significantly reduced the histopathological damage scores of the liver in the late phase of IR injury. Moreover, SM plus GSH treatment prior to liver IR significantly suppressed inflammatory process and oxidative stress as demonstrated by attenuations in tumor necrosis factor-α, myeloperoxidase and the thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances. These findings suggest that administration of SM plus GSH prior to liver IR may protect the liver parenchyma from the effects of an IR injury