Liver Injury Induced by Carbon Tetrachloride in Mice Is Prevented by the Antioxidant Capacity of Anji White Tea Polyphenols.

Ranran Wang,Jing Zhang,Zhiqing Yang,Xin Zhao,Xianrong Zhou,Jianfei Mu

doi:10.3390/antiox8030064

Ranran Wang, Jing Zhang + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox8030064

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Abstract

Anji white tea is a unique variety of green tea that is rich in polyphenols. In this study, the effect of Anji white tea polyphenols (AJWTP) on the prevention of carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced liver injury through its antioxidant properties was studied. Biochemical and molecular biology methods were used to analyze the serum and liver tissue of mice. The antioxidant capacity and liver injury preventive effect of AJWTP were determined, and the mechanism was elaborated. The results showed that AJWTP decreased the serum levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), triglyceride (TG), and total cholesterol (TC) in mice with liver injury, it increased the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) in the serum and liver tissue of mice with liver injury, and it also decreased the amount of malondialdehyde (MDA). Further quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) results showed that AJWTP upregulated the mRNA expression of Cu/Zn-SOD, Mn-SOD, catalase (CAT), and nuclear factor of kappa light polypeptide gene enhancer in B-cell inhibitor alpha (IκB-α) and downregulated the expression of nuclear factor κ-light-chain-enhancer of activated B-cells (NF-κB), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) in the liver tissue of mice with liver injury. Therefore, AJWTP produces sufficient antioxidant action to prevent liver injury, and the effect increases with the increase in AJWTP concentration. The effect of 200 mg/kg AJWTP was similar to that of the same concentration of the drug (silymarin) used for the treatment of liver injury. This indicates excellent potential for the development and utilization of AJWTP because it is an active substance with excellent antioxidant effects and can prevent liver injury.

Highlights

The liver is the largest metabolic organ in the body, and plays an important role in the metabolic activities of the human body
According to the standard curve calculation, the content of extracted Anji white tea polyphenols (AJWTP) is 80.9%, which proves that the main component of the experimental sample is polyphenols
The results showed that white tea downregulated the expression of COX-2, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), nuclear factor κ-light-chain-enhancer of activated B-cells (NF-κB), IL-1β, and TNF-α in mice with liver injury and upregulated the expression of IκB-α, alleviating liver injury by inhibiting oxidative stress

Summary

Introduction

The liver is the largest metabolic organ in the body, and plays an important role in the metabolic activities of the human body. Most of the substances consumed or absorbed by the body are transformed through the metabolism of the liver [1]. When CCl4 enters hepatocytes, it is activated by cytochrome P450 enzyme metabolism to produce trichloromethyl free radicals (CCl3 ) and trichloromethyl peroxide free radicals (OOCCl3 ). These free radicals covalently bind with phospholipid molecules on hepatocyte membranes, endoplasmic reticulum, and mitochondria, which induces lipid peroxidation to subsequently damage the structure and function of membranes, and inhibit cell membranes and mitochondria [2,3]. Byproducts of lipid peroxidation, such as reactive aldehydes, can bind to normal intracellular proteins and DNA and result in hepatotoxicity and carcinogenicity [6]

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