Protective effects of Astragalus immortal prescription against liver oxidative stress in irradiated mice / 解放军医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To explore the protective effect and possible mechanism of Astragalus immortal prescription (AIP) from hepatic oxidative stress in mice irradiated by X ray.Methods Six to eight weeks old Kunming mice were randomly divided into normal control group,irradiation alone group,positive control group,and low,medium and high dose groups of AIP (10 rats in each group),physiological saline,thymus peptide and different concentration decocta of AIP were given respectively.After continuous gavage for 10 days,the whole body was irradiated with X ray at the dose of 8 Gy at a time,and then continued lavaging for 3 days,with weighing the mice and observing the diet,water intake and general condition.After killing the mice,the liver was take and the liver index was calculated;the morphological changes of the liver tissues were observed and the expressions of superoxide dismutase (SOD),malondiadehyde (MDA),glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) in the liver tissues were detected.Results Compared with the normal control group,the weight of mice in model group decreased obviously (P＜0.01);pathological section showed that the liver cells were disordered,the central vein was congested and blocked seriously,the surrounding liver cells were denatured and necrotic;the activity of SOD and GSH-Px in liver tissues decreased,and the content of MDA increased (P＜0.05),the expression of Nrf2 protein increased significantly (P＜0.01).Compared with the radiation alone group,the weight of mice in positive control group and high dose AIP group increased significantly (P＜0.01);pathological section showed that the liver tissue structure was basically normal,the liver cells were radially arranged with the central vein as the center;the activity of SOD and GSH-Px in liver tissues increased,and the content of MDA decreased (P＜0.05),the expression of Nrf2 protein decreased significantly (P＜0.01).Conclusion AIP has protective effect from hepatic oxidative stress in mice irradiated by X ray,and the mechanism may be related to its antioxidant effects.