Protective effect of the extract of Terminalia catappa leaves on acute liver injury induced by D-GalN in mice / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the hepatoprotective effect of the extract of Terminala catappa leaves (TCE) and the possible mechanisms underlying its protection on acute liver injury induced by D-Galactosamine (D-GalN).</p><p><b>METHOD</b>In vivo: D-GalN-induced liver injury model was used to evaluate the effect of TCE on the activities of serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) in mice. Structure of liver was observed and liver mitochondrial swelling was measured following D-GalN injection without or with TCE. In vitro: D-GalN-induced primary cultured hepatocytes injury model was used to value the effect of TCE on cultured hepatocytes. Cell viability was measured by means of MTT assay, and the AST and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities in supernatant of cultured cells were investigated also.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>In acute hepatic injury test, with oral pretreatment of TCE, remarkable rises in serum AST and ALT activities (2.95 fold and 3.35 fold) induced by D-GalN were obviously reversed and significant morphological changes were remarkably lessened. In addition, the decrease in sensitivity of mitochondrial swelling to the exotic Ca2+ stimulation induced by D-GalN was also prevented by TCE. In primary cultured hepatocytes of mice, it was found that incubation with TCE could prevent the decrease in cell viability in a dose-dependent manner. It was also found that both the increase in AST level (1.9 fold) and the decrease in SOD activity (48.0%) in supernatant of primary cultured hepatocytes induced by D-GalN could be inhibited by pretreatment of TCE.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>TCE has hepatoprotective activity and the mechanisms underlying its protective effect may be related to its antioxidant activity and protection on both hepatocytes and liver mitochondria.</p>

Hepatoprotective effects of chloroform extract from leaf of Terminalia catappa in relation to the inhibition of liver IL-6 expression / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the hepatoprotective effects of Terminalia catappa chloroform extract (TCCE) and its effects on IL-6 gene over expression in liver of CCl4-treated mice.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>Mice were orally pretreated with TCCE (20, 50, 100 mg x kg(-1) x d(-1)) for 5 days, and the sALT activity of mice was detected 24 hours after the intraperitoneal injection of CCl4 on the 5 th day. Meanwhile, IL-6 mRNA level was determined by using the method of RT-PCR. And the liver morphological changes were also observed.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>sALT activity was remarkably increased (5.6 fold) after the injection of CCl4. However, with oral pretreatment of TCCE, changes in sALT were dose-dependently reversed. On the other hand, significant increase in IL-6 mRNA level induced by CCl4 was remarkably decreased. The level of IL-6 mRNA in 100 mg x kg(-1) TCCE treated mice was reversed to that of control. In addition, histological changes such as the infiltration of numerous inflammatory cells and hepatocyte swelling in injured mice were effectively lessened by the pretreatment of TCCE.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>TCCE has hepatoprotective activity and the mechanisms underlying its protective effects may be related to the inhibition on the over expression of IL-6 gene in liver.</p>