ABSTRACT
Aim To investigate the effect of extract of Averrhoa carambola L. root (EACR) on carbon tetra-chloride (CCl4) induced acute hepatic injury in mice. Methods Both NS and the treatment protocol were administered via intragastric gavage (i. g. ) for seven days. Each group of mice were intraperitineally injected with 0. 15% CCl4 to establish an acute liver injury model except for the normal group. The levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), interleukin-1 (IL-1 ) , interleukin-6 (IL-6) in the serum and the superoxide dismutase (SOD) , nialondialehyde ( MDA ) , glutathione ( GSH ) , and glutathione peroxidase ( GSH-Px ) in the liver tissues were measured. The protein expression of tumor necrosis factor-a (TNF-a), nuclear factor-kappa B ( NF- kB) , caspase-3 were measured by western blot. The histopathological changes were detected by HE staining. Results After prctreatment with EACR, the levels of AST, ALT, 11,-1, IL-6 in serum as well as MDA in the liver markedly decreased, whereas the activities of SOD, GSH and GSH-Px increased. The protein expressions of TNF-ot, NF-kB and caspase-3 were significantly down-regulated in EACR groups. HE staining also showed that the injury of liver was mitigated after administration of EACR. Conclusions EACR can prevent CC14 induced acute hepatic injury in mice. The mechanism may be related to attenuating the free radicals and inhibiting the lipid peroxidation.