Abstract
Triptolide, a purified diterpenoid from the herb Tripterygium wilfordii Hook.f., was widely used to treat many diseases. However, the hepatotoxicity of triptolide limited its clinical use. Research showed oxidative stress played an important role in triptolide-induced liver injury. To investigate the effect of vitamin C, which was one of the most effective antioxidants, on triptolide-induced hepatotoxicity and its potential mechanism in mice. In the present study, acute liver injury was induced by intraperitoneal injection of triptolide and vitamin C was orally administered. The results showed treatment with vitamin C prevented the triptolide-induced liver injury by reducing the levels of aspartate transaminase from 286.86 to 192.48 U/mL and alanine aminotransferase from 746.75 to 203.36 U/mL. Histopathological changes of liver corresponded to the same trend. Furthermore, vitamin C also protected the liver against triptolide-induced oxidative stress by inhibiting the generation of malondialdehyde (2.22 to 1.49 nmol/mgprot) and hydrogen peroxide (14.74 to 7.19 mmol/gprot) and restoring the level of total superoxide dismutase (24.32 to 42.55 U/mgprot) and glutathione (7.69 to 13.03 μg/mgprot). These results indicated that vitamin C could protect against triptolide-induced liver injury via reducing oxidative stress, and vitamin C may pose a significant health protection in the clinical use of triptolide.
Highlights
Tripterygium wilfordii Hook.f. (TWHF) was a representative Traditional Chinese Medicine herb (Tao and Lipsky 2000), which had been used in treating autoimmune diseases for centuries, such as nephritis, lupus erythematosus and rheumatoidBIOMEDICAL SCIENCESAn Acad Bras Cienc (2019) 91(2)EFFECT OF VC ON TP-INDUCED HEPATOTOXICITY available data revealed that triptolide exposure results in injury of various organs, including the livers, kidneys, testes, ovaries and hearts (Xi et al 2017)
To verify the potential protective effect of vitamin C on triptolide-induced hepatotoxicity in vivo, we established an animal model of acute liver injury induced by triptolide
The degree of liver injury was assessed by the histopathological sections and the plasma aspartate transaminase (AST) and ALT
Summary
EFFECT OF VC ON TP-INDUCED HEPATOTOXICITY available data revealed that triptolide exposure results in injury of various organs, including the livers, kidneys, testes, ovaries and hearts (Xi et al 2017). It affected cells and tissues in vitro and in vivo. These severe adverse effects limited clinical applications of triptolide. Among the toxicity of triptolide, high incidence of hepatotoxicity was considered as a main cause of triptolide-induced mortality (Jin et al 2015, Kong et al 2015, Tan et al 2018, Wang et al 2018). The prevention and elimination of hepatotoxicity induced by triptolide received increasing attention (Hou et al 2018, Li et al 2014)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
