Abstract
(1) Background: Graptopetalum paraguayense E. Walther is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine. In our previous study, 50% ethanolic G. paraguayense extracts (GE50) demonstrated good antioxidant activity. (2) Methods: To investigate the hepatoprotective effects of GE50 on ethanol and carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) co-induced hepatic damage in rats, Sprague–Dawley rats were randomly divided into five groups (Control group; GE50 group, 0.25 g/100 g BW; EC group: Ethanol + CCl4, 1.25 mL 50% ethanol and 0.1 mL 20% CCl4/100 g BW; EC + GE50 group: Ethanol + CCl4 + GE50; EC + silymarin group: ethanol + CCl4 + silymarin, 20 mg/100 g BW) for six consecutive weeks. (3) Results: Compared with the control group, EC group significantly elevated the serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminitransferase (ALT), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). However, GE50 or silymarin treatment effectively reversed these changes. GE50 had a significant protective effect against ethanol + CCl4 induced lipid peroxidation and increased the levels of glutathione (GSH), vitamin C, E, total antioxidant status (TAS), and the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), catalase (CAT), and glutathione S-transferases (GST). Furthermore, in EC focal group, slight fat droplet infiltration was observed in the livers, while in the GE50 or silymarin treatment groups, decreased fat droplet infiltration. HPLC phytochemical profile of GE50 revealed the presence of gallic acid, flavone, genistin, daidzin, and quercetin. (4) Conclusions: The hepatoprotective activity of GE50 is proposed to occur through the synergic effects of its chemical component, namely, gallic acid, flavone, genistin, daidzin, and quercetin. Hence, G. paraguayense can be used as a complementary and alternative therapy in the prevention of alcohol + CCl4-induced liver injury.
Highlights
The liver, being a dynamic and vital organ, actively participates in multi-metabolic functions of foods, drugs, chemicals, biologicals, and xenobiotics, as well as detoxification of viral and bacterial products
In ethanol + CCl4 (EC) focal group, slight fat droplet infiltration was observed in the livers, while in the GE50 or silymarin treatment groups, decreased fat droplet infiltration
(4) Conclusions: The hepatoprotective activity of GE50 is proposed to occur through the synergic effects of its chemical component, namely, gallic acid, flavone, genistin, daidzin, and quercetin
Summary
The liver, being a dynamic and vital organ, actively participates in multi-metabolic functions of foods, drugs, chemicals, biologicals, and xenobiotics, as well as detoxification of viral and bacterial products. These models, induced by toxins such as carbon tetrachloride (CCl4 ), dimethylnitrosamine (DMN), acetaminophen, or thioacetamide, can represent chronic or acute/fulminant hepatitis. Hepatotoxicity of CCl4 is largely due to its degraded metabolites trichloromethyl (CCl3 ) and trichloromethyl peroxyl (CCl3 O2 ) formed by hepatic microsomal enzyme [1,2]. Liver injury induced by CCl4 has been widely used as an experimental model to screen medicine drugs [4,5,6]
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