Abstract
Purpose: To investigate the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of aqueous leaf extract of T. laurifolia against alcoholic liver injury in rats.
 Methods: Male Wistar rats were administered either normal saline, ethanol (EtOH), normal saline with low or high dose T. laurifolia leaf extract (TL-LD or TL-HD), EtOH with TL-LD or EtOH with TL-HD. Blood biochemical indices: hepatic malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, liver histopathology, hepatic cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1), nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase, and pro-inflammatory cytokines, including interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β) and tumor necrotic factor alpha (TNF-α) mRNA expressions, were determined using standard methods.
 Results: The leaf extract of T. Laurifolia decreased hepatic MDA levels, improved liver pathology and down-regulated mRNA expressions of CYP2E1, NADPH oxidase and pro-inflammatory cytokinesin ethanol-treated rats.
 Conclusion: These results demonstrate that aqueous extract of T. Laurifolia exerts hepatoprotective effect against alcoholic liver injury through a mechanism involving inhibition of oxidative stress and inflammation.
Highlights
The liver is the primary organ of ethanol metabolism
The present study has demonstrated that T. laurifolia leaf extract downregulated gene expressions of hepatic IL-1β and tumor necrotic factor-α (TNF-α) in response to ethanol treatment
These results indicate that T. laurifolia possesses antiinflammatory properties in alcoholic liver injury related to other conditions [9]
Summary
The liver is the primary organ of ethanol metabolism. Chronic alcohol consumption results in alcohol-induced liver disease (ALD). A previous study demonstrated the involvement of NADPH oxidase 4 in early alcoholic liver injury and its regulation of the recruitment of inflammatory cells and production of proinflammatory cytokines [5]. Excessive alcohol consumption has been shown to increase hepatic translocation of gut-sourced endotoxin/lipopolysaccharide, resulting in activation of innate immune cells such as Kupffer cells and natural killer (NK)/NKT cells, and production of large amounts of ROS, proinflammatory cytokines [interleukin-1 (IL-1), tumor necrotic factor-α (TNF-α)] and liver injury [6]. It has been shown to exert hepatoprotective activity against ethanol-induced liver injury in primary cultures of rat hepatocytes and in rats. The present study was carried out to investigate the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of T. laurifolia aqueous leaf extract against alcoholic liver injury in male Wistar rats, and the underlying mechanism(s). STA-330, Cell Biolabs, San Diego, CA, USA) in accordance with the manufacturer's protocol
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