Protective Effect of Resveratrol on Hepatocyte Apoptosis in Alcoholic Liver

Abstract

Resveratrol is a phytoalexin produced by several plants. To investigate its mechanism on prevention of alcoholic liver injury, 72 male rats with alcoholic liver disease were randomly divided into 6 groups (blank, model, positive drug, high, medium and low dose of resveratrol groups). After 30 days of continuous feeding, the levels of various indexes were detected; TUNEL assay was used to detect the apoptosis of liver cells; the expression of CYP2E1, SIRT-1, NF-κB and TNF-α was detected by western blot. In the results, the activities of Alanine transaminase (ALT), Aspartate aminotransferase (AST), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), total bilirubin (TBIL) and y-glutamyl transferase (GGT) in serum of resveratrol groups were significantly lower than those of model control group, the activity of glutathione (GSH) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in high and medium dose resveratrol group was significantly increased. The contents of Lipid peroxidation product malondialdehyde (MDA) and Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) in the groups with high, medium and low doses of resveratrol were significantly reduced. Resveratrol could significantly reduce the protein expression of CYP2E1, NF-κB and TNF-α in rat liver tissue; the protein expression of SIRT-1 was significantly up-regulated. In conclusion, resveratrol has a remarkable antioxidant effect.