Abstract
BackgroundThe Curcuma longa L. (CLL) rhizome has long been used to treat patients with hepatic dysfunction. CLL is a member of the ginger family of spices that are widely used in China, India, and Japan, and is a common spice, coloring, flavoring, and traditional medicine. This study was performed to evaluate the hepatoprotective activity of CLL extract and its active component curcumin in an acute carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced liver stress model.MethodsAcute hepatic stress was induced by a single intraperitoneal injection of CCl4 (0.1 ml/kg body weight) in rats. CLL extract was administered once a day for 3 days at three dose levels (100, 200, and 300 mg/kg/day) and curcumin was administered once a day at the 200 mg/kg/day. We performed alanine transaminase (ALT) and aspartate transaminase (AST). activity analysis and also measured total lipid, triglyceride, and cholesterol levels, and lipid peroxidation.ResultsAt 100 g CLL, the curcuminoid components curcumin (901.63 ± 5.37 mg/100 g), bis-demethoxycurcumin (108.28 ± 2.89 mg/100 g), and demethoxycurcumin (234.85 ± 1.85 mg/100 g) were quantified through high liquid chromatography analysis. In CCl4-treated rats, serum AST and ALT levels increased 2.1- and 1.2-fold compared with the control. AST but not ALT elevation induced by CCl4 was significantly alleviated in CLL- and curcumin-treated rats. Peroxidation of membrane lipids in the liver was significantly prevented by CLL (100, 200, and 300 mg/kg/day) on tissue lipid peroxidation assay and immunostaining with anti-4HNE antibody. We found that CLL extract and curcumin exhibited significant protection against liver injury by improving hepatic superoxide dismutase (p < 0.05) and glutathione peroxidase activity, and glutathione content in the CCl4-treated group (p < 0.05), leading to a reduced lipid peroxidase level.ConclusionOur data suggested that CLL extract and curcumin protect the liver from acute CCl4-induced injury in a rodent model by suppressing hepatic oxidative stress. Therefore, CLL extract and curcumin are potential therapeutic antioxidant agents against acute hepatotoxicity.
Highlights
The Curcuma longa L. (CLL) rhizome has long been used to treat patients with hepatic dysfunction
We evaluated the hepatoprotective activity of CLL extract and curcumin in a carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced acute liver toxicity rat model
CLL turmeric extract and curcumin protect against the CCl4‐induced toxicity profile To examine the role of CLL turmeric extract and curcumin in hepatic toxicity, the extract and curcumin were applied to a CCl4-induced acute toxicity model
Summary
The Curcuma longa L. (CLL) rhizome has long been used to treat patients with hepatic dysfunction. This study was performed to evaluate the hepatoprotective activity of CLL extract and its active component curcumin in an acute carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced liver stress model. The systems used for developing natural products and medicines are usually based upon severe hepatic dysfunction models such as liver necrosis, necrosis, and cirrhosis [12]. We evaluated the hepatoprotective activity of CLL extract and curcumin in a CCl4-induced acute liver toxicity rat model. Compared with other studies of CCl4induced liver cirrhosis, fibrosis and other severe hepatic toxicities [16,17,18,19], our research design is an acute/transient toxicity study based on “a low dose of chemical toxin and one time exposure without histological abnormalities.”. We sought to determine whether the antioxidant properties of CLL extracts or curcumin are involved in the protective effects against acute liver toxicity
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