Freshwater Clam Extract Decreased Hemorrhagic Shock–Induced Liver Injury by Attenuating TNF-α Production

Abstract

Freshwater clam (Corbicula fluminea), a popular edible shellfish in Asia, is said to have beneficial effects on liver function. However, scientific evidence for such benefit is limited. In this study, the authors aimed to assess the treatment effects of freshwater clam extract (FCE) administration after hemorrhagic shock (HS) in rats. The authors randomly divided animals into three groups. After inducing HS in rats in the HS + FCE (n = 12) and HS groups, the authors fed 20 mg/kg FCE orally to rats in the HS group only. The authors neither induced HS in nor fed FCE to rats (n = 8) in the vehicle group. The authors measured the blood levels of white blood cells (WBC), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) at several time points during the experiment. After 48 hr, the authors sacrificed the rats and harvested the livers for hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining. The HS significantly decreased mean arterial pressure (MAP), increased blood AST, ALT, and LDH levels and induced liver injury in rats. Treatment with FCE increased MAP level and decreased AST, ALT, LDH, and TNF-α levels after hemorrhage. The HE staining showed diminished organ injury in the FCE-treated group. In conclusion, the administration of posttreatment FCE suppressed the release of pro-inflammatory TNF-α production after HS and decreased the levels of markers of liver injury associated with HS in rats. These beneficial effects suggest that FCE is a potential immunomodulator.