Carvacrol suppresses the expression of inflammatory marker genes in D-galactosamine-hepatotoxic rats

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE@#To unravel the mechanism of anti-inflammatory activity of carvacrol in D-galactosamine (D-GalN)-induced hepatotoxic rats.@*METHODS@#The mRNA and protein expression levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) were assayed by semi-quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RTPCR) and western blot analysis.@*RESULTS@#We found that the mRNA and protein expressions of TNF-α, IL-6, iNOS, COX-2 and NF-κB were significantly up-regulated in D-galactosamine induced hepatotoxic rats and treatment with carvacrol significantly down-regulated the expressions of these genes showing the mechanism behind the anti-inflammatory activity of carvacrol.@*CONCLUSIONS@#All above results reveal that the carvacrol well known anti-inflammatory activities in D-galactosamine induced hepatotoxic rats.