Study on Protective Effects of Crocin against Triptolide-induced Visceral Organ Injury in Mice / 中国药房

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE：To study the prot ective effects of crocin （CR）against triptolide （TP）-induced visceral organ injury in mice，and to provide reference for the studying TP compatibility and detoxification. METHODS ：Fifty mice were randomly divided into normal group ，TP low-dose and high-dose groups （i.e. TP-L group ，TP-H group ，with 300，600 μg/kg），TP low-dose and high dose combined with CR groups （i.e. TP-L+CR group ，TP-H+CR group ，with 300 μg/kg TP+100 mg/kg CR ，600 μg/kg TP+ 100 mg/kg CR ），with 10 mice in each group. Except for normal group ，other groups were given relevant medicine intragastrically ， once a day ，for consecutive 7 d. The body weight of mice was weighted every day ，and their death was recorded. After last administration，the mice were sacrificed ，and the heart ，liver，kidney and testis were taken ，and the organ index was calculated ； serum levels of ALT ，AST，BUN and Scr ，the activity of T-SOD and the contents of MDA were all determined. The pathological changes of heart ，liver，kidney and testis were observed ；mRNA expression of Bcl- 2，Bax and caspase- 3 in liver tissue were determined. RESULTS ：Three，five，two and three mice in TP-L group ，TP-H group ，TP-L+CR group and TP-H+CR group died respectively，and the survival rates were 70％，50％，80％ and 70％，respectively. Compared with normal group ，the body weight （7th day of experiment ），heart index ，liver index ，kidney index （except for TP-L group ），testicular index ，T-SOD activity and mRNA expression of Bcl- 2 in liver tissue ，serum levels of ALT （except for TP-L group ），AST（except for TP-L group ），BUN and Scr，MDA content and mRNA expression of Bax ，mRNA expression of caspase- 3 in liver tissue were increased significantly （P＜ 0.05 or P＜0.01）. There were obvious pathological changes in heart ，liver，kidney and testis tissue. Compared with the same dose of TP alone group ，the above indexes of TP combined with CR group were improved in varying degrees. Except for the renal index and serum ALT level of TP-L+CR group ，there was statistical significance for all indexes （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）；the pathological injuries of heart ，liver，kidney and testis were significantly improved. CONCLUSIONS ：CR can relieve the damage of heart ， liver，kidney and testis induced by TP ，which may be related to the antioxidant stress of CR.